Pokemon 0
by Afroshock
Summary: The Amber Act is a law that makes impoverished or academically failing kids into Pokemon Trainers. This story tracks the adventures and life of one such Trainer who learns he's no different from the Pokemon has has to catch and raise.
1. Chapter I: I Wasn't Smiling

**FOREWORD:**

I was told to keep this part brief by the Pokemon League HQ Publishers, so I guess I'll talk about basic knowledge you're going to need if you're going to read this book in its entirety. I was also told to keep a 'dramatic effect' going for those who don't know a single thing about my life, so hopefully things will be entertaining for you.

This autobiography is written for anyone interested in what a particular Pokemon League Champion went through in his Trainer years. It's supposed to appeal to everyone, so nobody get mad at me when I start introducing knowledge that's common to all Trainers (like what each kind of Pokeball does and how to tell a Pidgey from a Starly). You may use this book as a guide to help better yourself as a Pokemon Trainer, or to simply gain an understanding on several types of Pokemon, an understanding of Pokemon Trainers who participated in the 55th and 56th Johto Pokemon League Championships, or you could use this book to just read at night to help you fall asleep.

When I first received word that I should write this book, I declined the idea for personal reasons. Then, I figured the money made could go to a beneficial cause and agreed to it. I initially started off writing about the recent events, but I decided to take a different approach and 'build up' to them. The most obvious example of this is the fact that I'm going to detail how I ended up becoming a Johto Pokemon League Champion.

I still think the fact I wrote this autobiography is extremely pretentious, but it's for a good cause.

I dedicate this book to my older brother, Professor Gavin Willow, to my parents to a certain point - Jonathan and Mary Willow, to dear friends and those I have the utmost respect for (to keep things fair, I can't name you all LOL).

I also dedicate this book to all of my Pokemon.

But I will name Alice and June. This is for you also. Definitely.

This story is possible from me recording in my journal regularly during the years.

* * *

**Chapter I - I Wasn't Smiling**  
_  
"Pokemon are our food, clothes, while also being our friends and, yet, our enemies. Some are weak and frail and there are few that have the power to directly change the world in an instant. They keep the world going just as much as we do._

_They're considered inferior to humans, yet they could easily destroy us and our creations if they wanted to. People like me, you, and Red are the ones that keep humans and Pokemon in stride."_

- Steven Steele, 46th Hoenn Pokemon League Champion and 2nd Place Winner of the Sinnoh League Championship.

My name is Edward Willow. I am the 56th Johto Pokemon League Champion.

I became a trainer when I was thirteen and a half years old. I was born and raised in New Bark Town, the eastern most Johto town, right on Route 1/29. It's a quiet place dominated by suburbs. New Bark is noted for having a more than decent school system. The money produced in New Bark was so big that it even got its own Pokemon Lab. Families move there to keep their kids from becoming - you guessed it - Pokemon Trainers. I know some of you who are reading this are taken aback or probably straight out offended by how I just worded that. Your history classes (or the ones you're missing out on at this very moment) would've told you that there wasn't really any choice for some kids back then. I suggest you look up the info, but I'll simply say that government wanted two things:more controlled pokemon and less poor and/or stupid kids in the system.

I was a stupid suburban, middle-class kid. I was held back in the 6th grade for failing math, then I failed it again. That was the last straw for me. My parents were both angry at me and sad. The anger made sense to me at the time since I was just a lazy idiot for not wanting to work. The sadness was weird, and stung the most. This wasn't pity, which was funny. Instead, I got the beginning of all the condescending speeches I would hear later on. I wrote this 'speech' in my journal. I can still see the tear stains on the paper. This is from my dad. We were sitting down in the dining room at the table. He was across from me. That table was long as hell that day.

"I moved the family here 15 years ago to keep your brother from being turned to a Pokemon Trainer. Goldenrod is filled with those little bastards with their animals doing nothing with their lives. Gavin wanted to be like them at one point, but he - unlike you - was actually competent in his schoolwork. I moved the family here so he would get those dumb ideas out of his head. Tell me what Gavin is now."

I told him that Gavin is a Pokemon Researcher.

"That's right. I'm fine with that. He became 18 with the highest marks in New Bark High, got a free ride to Cinnabar University, and became a Pokemon Researcher for the lab up the hill. He had a desire to be around Pokemon."

There was a deathly long pause. You know what I'm talking about. I swear my dad didn't blink. I knew the consequences. I had already started crying. I don't think I whimpered though.

"Do you like Pokemon?"

I said no and shook my head violently. He got up, came up to me, and threw me out of the chair by my collar.

"So why the hell did you become such a failure? Why are you stupid? When you were younger, you were smarter than Gavin when he was the same age. What happened?"

I told him that I couldn't care less about Trainers and that I didn't want to be one.

"But you're going to be one though and there's not a thing me, your mother, you, or Gavin can do about it."

I had heard stories of parents hiding their children away if they were going to be forced to be Trainers. I expected the same thing. I definitely wasn't getting it nor would I.

I don't have the rest of the conversation, but I do remember him throwing me again into my room, where I started writing down my thoughts. He was the one who got me the journal.

The saying about how actions speak louder than words applies to my mom in this situation. The moment the school spoke about throwing me out, she began to treat me less as a son and more as a disliked tenant. She gave me the least amount of food in dinner, breakfast stopped completely, and family pictures with only me and my parents in them were put up and stored in the attic. When Gavin was home, she'd become more melancholy than she was due to the news. She kept his food supply constant though.

One day, during the week I was supposed to leave, my mom came into my room while I was packing. She told me that Gavin was going to give me my first Pokemon and that she was working on making lunches for me. I fell out again. I think she hesitated before holding me, like she thought if I deserved it or not. I wasn't looking up at her during the moment, so you can feel free to call me judgmental - because I was beginning to hate her and dad.  
I felt nothing from her embrace. To this day, I have no idea if it was my fault that I couldn't.  
I forgot how long she held me, but before she left the room, she gave me 400 dollars in cash.

A few days later, Gavin walked me to the Pokemon Lab. At this time, he stayed in my family's home. Rent free I believe. He and I got along pretty well. He used to help me with my homework when I had it and decided to actually do it. We looked somewhat alike. He had the same red curly hair I did back then and just looked overall lanky. I imagined myself to look like him when I got older, except without the glasses since my eyes were fine. As I grew up, I noted how his wardrobe changed from wearing simple things like T-shirts with graphics on them and jeans to slacks and sweaters and polos. In a sense, I looked up to him simply because he was a good friend to know.

He never did attempt to get me into his Pokemon world, nor did he ever bring his work home with him. I grew to respect him more because of that during my time away from home.

The Pokemon Lab was filled with a scholarly aura. Walking in, I noticed that everyone was wearing those stereotypical white lab coats and glasses with goggles over them. The entire place that was laid out in front of me was one huge room - just a large pristine area with several gurneys, sliding tables, desks, and other assorted lab equipment. I was used to seeing Chansey and Blissey in hospitals, but they were here too wearing white caps and pushing carts of what I assumed were chemicals and files.

I followed Gavin through the aisles of desks and groups of people until we got to his, near the back. There was a lone Pokeball on it, the standard red and white variety - the size of a ping pong.

Gavin told me the pokemon in the pokeball on the desk belonged to me. He explained that the lab at the time was having a deficient in infant Pokemon due to parent Pokemon not wanting to breed, so I wouldn't have any choice in which Pokemon I wanted.

I remember laughing in my mind at this, making my stomach churn from disgust.

Gavin apologized for not having the typical Johto Starters, but I couldn't have cared less. He went on to talk about how the Feraligators, Meganiums, and Typholsions were keeping away from each other and that some Combusken from Hoenn produced an egg. He knew I had no idea what the hell he was talking about, so he trailed off. I was already agitated that I had dropped the ball.

I still remember this clearly without the aid of my journal.

I picked up the ball, and pressed the gray button. The ball inflated to roughly the size of a softball. I gently tossed it underhanded on the floor. It popped open and produced that soft exploding sound and white light that I'd get used to eventually. The white light shot out of the ball, like its own mass, jagging every which way until it was competely out on the floor. The light took a form, then went away, leaving a small orange bird that hopped about on its feet. The ball jumped back to my hand, hitting my knuckle, causing it to roll away.

I grabbed the Pokeball the Torchic had came out of, and stumbled back to Gavin and my Pokemon. He gave me the speech about how I should take care of it and how it'll take care of me. His words passed through one ear and went out the other. I had nothing against the Torchic, but I didn't want it. Not in the situation I was in at least. I was being forced to have it simply to make something out of myself because apparently, everyone had given up on me.

I think Gavin sensed this, because he picked up the Torchic and put it in my arms. It felt like touching a summer day itself. It's feathers were warm to the slightest touch, so warm that I contemplated the Pokemon as a pillow. I looked down at it with indifference and, I suppose, sorrow. It looked up at me as thought it figured it could depend on me. I immediately felt sorry for the thing, yet I started to become angry at it for putting that much responsiblity and trust into me. It was an infant and I was a child.

Gavin told me to give it a name. Because of how it felt like the heat of Summer, I named it June.

He took us over to a stairwell in a wall. We went down a floor and entered a small room containing a computer that enveloped every corner.

"This is where you get registered."

The fact that I was being registered into something just made me feel worse. When Gavin explained that I'd receive a Trainer ID of randomly assorted numbers, my dad could've throttled me into the pits of Hell itself. My mom could've stabbed me twenty times in my sleep. The Torchic could've incinerated me.

He told me to stand on the X on the floor, which I didn't notice when I entered. There it was, big, red, and forboding. I figured that if I stood on it, something heavy like a piano or a Golem would crush me.

I put June down, who just tweeted innocently and stared at me with a cocked head. I stood on the X. A camera descended from the ceiling - its big black lens staring at me.

"You should smile, Ed," said Gavin. I shot him a side look of intolerance. I was surprised that he was serious. I didn't smile though.

The picture of me that popped up on screen looked so miserable.

A slot opened up above the keyboard. A small red slab was ejected out of it. Gavin took it and handed it to me. He called it a Pokedex and told me to try it out on June. The thing fit into my palm perfectly. A pokeball was engraved on its lid, with a small lens representing the button. I opened it up, revealing two screens on the top and bottom.

I aimed the lens over to June. The screens started blinking green with the top one saying SCANNING in big red letters scrolling. A bar extended across the bottom screen. Once it filled, a picture of a Torchic appeared on the top. The bottom contained information such as height, weight, and the footprint. The device started talking in a cool, soft, female voice. I nearly dropped the thing from being caught off guard.

"Torchic. A 'Chick' Pokemon. A fire burns inside of it, so it feels very warm to hug. It launches fireballs of 1,800 degrees F."

I could see why it was called a PokeDex.

Gavin told me that it contains information on the 493 known Pokemon in the world and that it would be my greatest asset in my adventure.

His words echoed in my head like an annoying screech made when someone takes their nails across a chalkboard. I yelled at him to shut up. He was smiling. I wanted to punch it off of him. I felt like he was mocking me, like he was glad that he wasn't the son who failed. The image of him being the brother I had loved was being chipped away that very moment.

I found myself crying in front of him and he did nothing about it. I wanted my mom, or anyone, to hold me. I stood there with him just looking.

June just tweeted.

Two days later, I left home. It was bitter. It was in the morning and the sky was still purple. I had expected at least for my parents to drive me to another town and leave me there. Instead, I was made to walk out of my own home. I had to leave my key and close the door. My parents didn't see me out, so I mentally told myself to break myself away from them as I made that long walk out the yard. It didn't work immediately, but I kept telling myself that I'm good on my own, over and over.

Neither of my parents didn't want to look at me that day. I received no breakfast.

I made my way out the of the fence and into town, then to the outskirts. I didn't look back. I took Route 1/29 and made my way to the next town. I had no idea what was there, or even its name really, but I was now out of my own home so I figured I should just go somewhere else to prove this. I also felt like I had other things to prove, but no idea what they were and no idea to who.

My mind then went to think about Gavin. He wasn't there to make up for the lack of an uplifting farewell at home, and the way he acted in the lab before I left was very curious. I was still angry at him, and I started to regret being so vulnerable in front of him. I started to curse under my breath about him as I headed down the route, toting a backpack filled with sandwiches and a PokeBall with June in it.

I remember how the scenery looked that day. The image still sticks to me. I was walking on the commonly tread path - made by people walking up and down I suppose. It was dirt. There were rough circles of dirt stretching toward the horizon. Then there were the trees. A lot of trees. I think I could hear Pidgey and Spearow screeching and Cricketune chirping. I think I remember this day a bit clearly since the noise was annoying, making the sight of the route annoying. Laid out in front of me, straight green emptiness leading to wherever.

I partially felt like sitting down where I was, hoping that someone would find me, and return me to my parents. But I kept walking. I figured that I cried too much in the previous days, so I stopped. I kept walking. It's weird when I look back at it. It felt like a nightmare that I knew was...a nightmare...so I thought that I would wake up from it sooner or later.


	2. Chapter II: That One Trainer

II.

FAMILY FLEES HOME

_Last Monday._

_BLACKTHORN - The Johto Regional Police are currently pursuing Albert Tilley (12) and his parents, Yolanda Benjamin Tilley (27) and Desmond Tilley (29), for leaving their household after being placed in house arrest._

_Albert Tilley was sentenced to become a Pokemon Trainer on August 16th. He failed to arrive to a Pokemon . The Johto Regional Police found Tilley with his family, and placed them under house arrest until a Pokemon Lab Representative could arrive._

_Upon arrival, the police found the house empty with living necessities such as food and clothing gone._

_The Johto Regional Police released a statement: "Tilley broke the law, and his parents are breaking it too. We'll find them for sure. This doesn't happen as often as a lot of people may think, but we've done very well at preventing runaways."_

----

The route to Cherrygrove took till the afternoon. The way there was uneventful...all I remember was seeing a ton of trees and fields filled with Swellow. I kept thinking about how I was thrown out of my house with hardly a word from my parents. I had expected them to at least do something...I never felt the idea that they hated me, yet they easily just let me go. No reluctance. No nothing.

My dad hit me. That was the last thing I remembered about him upon leaving home. It was as if he was a different person completely. I was asking myself how he of all people could become so cold. A few weeks before I left, he was teaching me how to throw a baseball. It was confusing to think about, and it didn't help that the more I thought about it, the sadder and angrier I became.

The day lost its morning haze and everything was clear. Cherrygrove was a small town with wooden shops placed here and there. There was more grass than concrete, if that makes sense. I saw no roads in the town, so it was probably off most the maps. I stood right outside of the town thinking about what I should do next. I knew no one in another town, I had no aunts or uncles to my knowing, and I was a kid with four hundred dollars. Staying at an inn would be the best thing to do, I thought. Just having a room for a whole day to think about the situation I was in would be best. Deep down inside, I was shivering, regardless of how warm it was, so I also needed to be behind a locked door.

I walked through the town, seeing people doing what I assume were their normal things, like sweeping porches, tending to gardens, and the like. I was looking for someone who I could easily ask about where I could spend a night. I ended up finding a shop. The man there was putting fruit into some baskets outside, wearing an apron. He looked friendly enough, so I asked him if there was an inn nearby.

"Definitely." He pointed forward, in the direction I was walking toward. "Just keep going that way. The sign in front of it says Cherrygrove Inn. You can"t miss it at all."

I thanked him. I took a few steps toward away from his shop, and then he called out to me.

"Hey, sorry, but are you a Pokemon Trainer?"

I was a Pokemon Trainer now. "Yeah, I am."

He told me his shop just received a shipment of PokeBalls and medical products for Pokemon. He asked me if I wanted any, reminding me of the fact that I had a Pokemon in my possession. I began to notice the feeling of the PokeDex in my right hind pocket. I told him not today and gave him a thanks and a farewell.

I found the inn a few minutes after. It wasn't a big place, nor fancy, but it had a cozy feel to it due to it looking exactly like a two-story house. I went in and ran right into two kids arguing loudly, almost destroying my perceptions of the inn.

The two, a boy and girl, were arguing over whether or not they should have a Pokemon duel. The boy was shorter and probably younger than the girl. He looked awfully terrified of her and screamed with a cracking voice that he didn't want to battle. He looked worn with dirtied clothes and skin. The girl was trying her best to make the boy duel her and said that, if he would to beat her, she'd give him some of her money. She told him he could probably buy another night in the inn. She wore a red bandana with a blonde ponytail swinging in the back. Her red sleeveless coat was wrinkled and her black shorts had strings hanging out. Her legs had a mix of scratches and healed scabs that left marks. She looked more worn than the boy, but I didn't see any fear in her. If she hadn't have told the boy that she'd give him some of her money, I would've thought she was a thug threatening him since she was taller than him by a head.

He finally gave up and accepted her challenge. She took him outside to the street. The innkeeper, an old lady who just kept to the background the entire time, told them not to damage anything. The girl replied, with bright confidence written all over her face, that she'd be careful.

The boy stood in front of the house across the inn, looking pitifully about. The girl yelled at him to stand in the middle of the street. He did so like an obedient dog. She ran some meters away from him and turned around. She shouted out to ask for his name.

He replied too quietly. I couldn't catch his name. I'm sure she didn't either, but she didn't care.

"My name is Alice Rowan. Good luck! May the best trainer win! Winner has at least one Pokemon left!"

She threw down first - a blue turtle. I whipped out my PokeDex and learned its name was Squirtle and that it was a Water-type Pokemon.

The boy threw out his Pokemon. An Eevee. One of my former neighbors had one as a housepet.

The girl was impressed. "Wow! You're lucky to have one of those! Where'd you catch it?"

The boy stammered with each syllable. "I-I started with it..."

She seemed oblivious to the boy's demeanor. "Wow! You're insanely lucky then! You can go first since I asked you to fight."

The boy looked lost. He told his Eevee to "...Attack?" The little brown dog just sat and licked its white mane.

She waited for a good moment, and then told her Squirtle to headbutt it. The large blue turtle charged the Eevee and rammed it with its bald dome, sending it flying into a wall, making a thud, and then bouncing onto the ground. I felt sorry for the thing. It looked dazed and struggled to get back up, whining.

The girl shouted for her Squirtle to do a 'water gun' attack. The Squirtle gargled and shot out water with enough velocity for it to be a fire truck's watering hose. The water hit the Eevee into the wall again. When it fell back to the ground, it didn?t bother getting back up.

"Alright Shredder! You did awesome! You won again!" She shouted. The Squirtle looked almost as happy as she was. They both ran to each other and embraced lovingly, her giggling and her Pokemon growling contently. She put it back into its PokeBall.

The boy did no such thing with his Eevee. He looked at its unmoving body, at the girl who was getting up, and back again. He looked at me for a second before returning to her. His eyes were white saucers and his mouth was slightly open, his bottom lip quivering.

She got back on her feet and put her hands on her hips, staring at the boy. I couldn?t tell if she was waiting for him to throw out another Pokemon or if she was considering what to take from him, since it seemed clear that she just won.

"I kind of jumped the gun there...I didn't think about you possibly having any more Pokemon. Do you?" Her tone was somewhat cocky. I felt the top of my stomach insides move a bit at her voice ? her feminine voice mixed with taunting was unsettling. She became sadistic in my eyes.

Her opponent told her that he had no more Pokemon. She asked him how much money he had. He said that he almost had enough to reach Ecrutek City. He handed her ten dollars from his pocket, saying that it took him far too long to get enough money from odd jobs and that he wouldn?t want to lose too much of his earnings.

A part of me expected her to ask for more because of her previous tone of voice, but she took what he offered.

"How many badges do you have?" She asked him.

He replied that he had none.

"Well get three. There's a gym in the next town with trainers who use Flying Pokemon. Heal and train your Eevee. It should be able to earn you your first badge."

The Eevee was still on the ground, hurt. Its breathing was heavy; I could hear its squeaking from the large distance that separated it from me. Its owner called it back. He asked where he could find a Pokemon Center. She gave him directions and saw that the boy on his way. I was at the door the entire time watching everything. She walked up to me to go back inside the inn. She climbed the steps until she was at my level. She was taller than me by half a head. Alice looked down at me and I looked up at her.

"Are you a trainer too?"

I suddenly remembered June. "Nope."

She eyed me suspiciously. "Then why are you lugging around that backpack then? There are no schools in this town."

I suddenly remembered I was carrying clothes and sandwiches. I didn't say anything. I had a lump in my throat.

I turned around and headed to the innkeeper's desk and rung the bell for service. She interrogated me, accusing me for lying. The innkeeper didn't seem to care about her outbursts. I had to speak over her voice to get the key to my room. I was thankful that it was on the first floor - Room 2.

I stomped into my room with the girl shouting behind me, demanding that I challenge her. Her very presence was messing with my head. The fact that she was avid about being a Pokemon Trainer disturbed me. Then, she just beat the snot out of a kid's Pokemon and wanted his money. The kid didn't want anything to do with her, yet she forced herself upon him, and she was forcing herself upon me. It also irritated me that she was a girl doing this to me. I felt weak. I slammed the door in her face with heavy arms and locked the door. My eyes began to water, but I didn't cry. I threw my backpack on the bed and under my breath, I cursed. I sat down on the foot of the bed and I felt my stomach grumble.

I opened up my backpack and pulled out a sandwich. While I unwrapped the foil, I noticed there was a TV near the foot of the bed with a remote on the dresser next to me. I turned on the TV while taking a bite of Mom's BLT. It was quite calming to my shot nerves.

I immediately turned to find some cartoons, but the television was local and everything was either news or sitcoms - the stuff that comes on when normal kids are at school. I took out my journal and started to record everything that happened to me so far while searching for something to watch.

I ended up finding a documentary on Pokemon about how they all have a common ancestor, and if that ancestor also gave birth to humanity. I honestly wanted to stay away from Pokemon at the moment, but I watched what was left of it. Then I decided to watch some of the Johto regional news. More Pokemon info on how a Ground-type based Gym was constructed in a middle of a desert in the south, and an interview with this year's Johto Pokemon League Champion. I flipped through the channels again and found some international news talking about new kinds of PokeBalls being developed that will make it easier to handle Pokemon known for wild tempers. They made sure to note Gyarados in the list of easily agitated Pokemon and showed a man who was nearly mauled to death by one. A tooth had gone straight through his stomach, leaving a hole in his body that was loosely covered by scarred tissue. You could see where the smaller teeth were gnawing at other parts of his abdomen. The image made me wonder what would happen if I had a Gyarados myself and that Alice girl tried to push me around like she did that other kid earlier. I guiltily sneered at the image of her being ravaged by a giant sea serpent and said that would teach her. I chuckled, and then put away the thought.

I spent a few hours writing and watching TV. It was really relaxing. I became extremely lazy as the sunlight from the curtained windows died out. I flipped on a lamp next to the bed and realized I really had to go pee and should probably get ready for a good night's rest. I locked the room's door behind me and went out into the hall, to the bathroom. The door was closed, so I knocked.

The girl from earlier shouted through the door that she'd hurry up. I took a step back. I was asking myself if I should run back to my room or not. Before I could decide on anything, she came out, wearing red pajamas and her hair uncovered and down, holding a bag of toiletries. I was going to attempt to turn my back quickly, but I hesitated.

She looked startled. I figured I must've looked like she was about to murder me.

"You're that boy that wouldn't fight me today," she said.

I said nothing. I wondered if I should lie about being a Pokemon Trainer or not. My bladder started to feel like it was going to explode too.

There was a silent moment. She asked if I was OK, then I blurted out what was on my mind.

"Look, I'm sorry, but yeah, I'm a Pokemon Trainer. I don't want to be. Please just leave me alone. I don't have much money on me, and I already spent some just to spend the night here. I really have to go use the bathroom. I'm about to wet my jeans."

I pushed her out of my way and, again, closed and locked the door in her face. I unzipped and went, then washed my hands. I looked at my reflection in the mirror. My face was somewhat clean, but hair was a bit unorganized. I plucked it a bit until it was back to its nice curliness.

I left the bathroom and found the girl jogging from down the hall from her room I guessed, probably from just putting her stuff up. She came up to me. I grew tense again.

"Listen...I'm sorry. Today, I got kind of out of it, you gotta understand."

The fact that she was sorry was what made me not march back into my room to close the door on her for the third time.

"...Everything's....fine I guess." I was a bit reluctant to forgive her.

She sighed in relief. She said she was sorry again.

"I'm Ed Willow. That was a good battle outside today." I held out my hand. She shook it.

"Well, you probably heard me outside, but I'm Alice Rowan. You really thought it was good?"

I nodded.

"The Eevee didn't do a thing. I'm sure the boy could've done more, but the Eevee didn't listen to him. I didn't expect much out of him anyway."

I asked why she bothered fighting him in that case.

"I needed an easy win. It's kind of mean, but it gives me a nice win-loss ratio. Also, my Pokemon get experience too. Hopefully the kid will get wherever he said he was going. I could've asked for more money, but I wanted the win more than anything."

She seemed excited about talking about Pokemon. Alice smiled at the side of her lips. "What Pokemon do you have on you?"

I hesitated in answering. I was going to acknowledge June again.

At that moment, something told me to just spit it out.

"I only have a Torchic. Her name is June."

Alice grew animated. I found myself gradually becoming more comfortable as we talked in the hallway. We later moved our conversation back to my room. I laid on my bed and she sat at the foot.

She asked to see my Pokemon. I dug into my backpack and pulled out June's PokeBall and threw her out. June immediately ran around the room, chirping loudly.

"When was the last time you let June out?"

I had to think about it. From the time I first got it from my brother and now, I just remembered letting June out once, and that was before I set off on the route to Cherrygrove.

"About two or three days ago," I said.

Alice told me off.

"What the hell's the matter with you?" She got up and opened the window. June jumped out. I sat up.

"She'll be back since you just got her, but you should let her out more. The less time you spend with her, the less she'll listen to you."

I nodded in obedience, but I silently questioned if I would actually follow through.

Alice looked above my head and found a clock on the wall that I never noticed until she pointed it out. It was ten o'clock. She told me she was headed out in the morning to reach Azalea Town by cutting through some woods. I asked her where I should go next. I could hear June chirping outside, before climbing onto the windowsill and jumping into the room next to me.  
"You could go to Violet City. There's a gym there...if you're interested. I'm sure if you trained June well enough, she'll win you a badge. You could also use her to get money for the both of you by just challenging trainers."

I began to consider the idea. I had three-hundred and fifty dollars left. Challenging trainers seemed more beneficial to me than getting a badge, too. I then remembered earlier that Alice told the boy she fought to get at least three badges. I asked her about it.

"If you get three, you can be a Pokemon Ranger, which I guess a lot of Pokemon Trainers wouldn't mind being since you're actually given food, shelter, and money from just being bossed around by Pokemon League Champions. Or you could be a gym leader and start your own gym."

I grew curious. I always knew that it takes at least eight won badges to compete in the annual Pokemon League Championships. I never watched the battles on TV, but I wondered what happens to the losers. I asked Alice about it. She grew dazzled by the talk of the Pokemon League. She lay on her stomach on my bed and rested her head on her arms, kicking her feet in the air.  
"If you get eight badges, you don't have to be a trainer anymore. By that time, you may as well try out the Pokemon League Championship."

She suddenly squealed. It sounded too cute. I had to turn on my side away from her. The image I was having of her now was conflicting with her intimidating attitude earlier.

"Well, I'm going to sleep." She got up. "I hope things go well for you, with whatever you decide to do."

"Same to you," I said.

"Hopefully we'll meet up again. If we don't, then it was nice meeting you."

I chuckled. "Same. Lock the door behind you."

She left. I got up and closed the window. I decided that I'd let June sleep with me. I found her sleeping on the floor. I picked up her up and put her in the bed. I put my journal up, turned off the lamp and held June close. Her body was as warm as I remembered it, and it seemed like her temperature would rise each time she inhaled. My nose ruffled her feathers.

I thought about Alice. I didn't know much about her at the time, but she seemed really into being a Pokemon Trainer. I wondered about what her goal was and why she was so dedicated, when here I was reluctant about even having the Pokemon I was letting sleep beside me. That boy she fought was probably in the same situation also.

I rubbed June's wing. I realized that Alice wouldn't be the only trainer who'd want to challenge me, and they'd definitely ask for more than ten dollars; and, I also took in the fact that I was a 13 year old out alone. A fire-breathing bird wouldn't be bad protection at all.

My mind went immediately back to Alice. I had no idea how old she was, but she didn't look that much older than me...a lot of girls were taller than me at the same age. She seemed to be traveling alone too. She wasn't ugly by any means, so being that kind of girl all alone seemed like a bad idea to me, but in the back of my head, I figured that her Pokemon were good enough protection for her with the way she handled her Squirtle. Was she forced out of her home like I was? She sure was cheerful.

I began to drift to sleep. The last thing I thought was about why I was thrown out of my home. I was sure I wasn't the only kid that that happened to, but my family didn't bother doing anything about it. I had done badly in school, so I was made into a Pokemon Trainer.

"Why?" I asked myself. I'm sure the answer was obvious, and it was, but I was a kid at the time. I'd have to expand my mind and interests to learn the answer.

Kids are simply born ignorant. You cannot blame them.


	3. Chapter III: Meeting Rob

_Yeah, I really need to upload these chapter at better times so I can get more readers...._. I'm uploading this one at 7:32 PM EST, so that may be a good prime time. Next Monday, I will upload Chapter 4. I've already finished writing Chapter 5. Exams are coming around, so I have to get into study mode (*sighs*)._

_It doesn't really help that I'm doing summer school in college either. I may be able to get out chapters every few weekends, perhaps. I don't know._

_This chapter is sort of special.... Based on what other readers have said about it, I can tell you that it will either make or break the story for you - which is a good thing for me somewhat, since I am intending to 'reconstruct' what you know about Pokemon sort of.  
_

_Anyway, here's Chapter Three. I haven't said this in a while, but RnR._

_---  
_

III.

_  
"My main Pokémon team consists of the Pokémon that bled the most with me."_

-Cynthia Maxwell, 7th International Pokémon League Champion, 25th Sinnoh Pokémon League Champion, 2nd Place winner in 29th Kanto Pokémon League.

---

I woke up to specks of sunlight dancing around my face. I found myself holding June close, who began to wake from her sleep. I sat up and looked at the clock. It was a bit past 9 AM. I figured the best thing to do would be to make my way to Violet City. My logic: Violet City has a gym, so there would probably be a bunch of trainers. I could try my hand at getting some money.

June climbed into my lap. I put my hand on her head and rubbed my thumb through her feathers. I decided that I was going to attempt to get three gym badges and see if I could become a Pokémon Ranger. The world was too big to be walking around by myself, and I'd have to be completely self-dependent. The idea of going for three badges irritated me enough. I would have to go to at least three towns, and I had no idea if June was good enough.

I got up and packed my things into my bag. I decided to let June stay out of her Poké Ball, so I put her on my shoulder. She stood obediently as I gave the innkeeper back the key to my room. I asked her if the girl named Alice left already. She said she had left two hours ago. I felt a bit disappointed after hearing that. I figured she'd be good to tag with, and she seemed like a fairly strong trainer too.

I found myself thinking about her after leaving the inn. She definitely had the means of protecting herself with her Squirtle and whatever other Pokémon she had. Having more than one Pokémon on her was a good idea. I decided to go back to the mart I passed by yesterday. The old owner was in his apron, sweeping off the front of the store. I told him good morning.

"Good morning! It's a very nice one too, isn't it?

I took a glance around me, and so did June. It was a bright morning. Cherrygrove's wives and mothers were hanging clothes out, and people tending to their own homes and shops.

"Yes, it's really nice," I said. I brought up that I was the kid who asked for directions to the inn yesterday.

"Oh you! Yeah I remember. What can I do for you?"

I asked him for four Poké Balls and directions to Violet City. He told me to follow him inside, where baskets of food were against the walls and various items were in shelves in the middle of the floor. There was a section labeled 'POKEMON CURABLES'. I followed him to the front of the shop. He went behind his counter and pulled out an open tin box of small, red, and white Poké Balls.

"Can I see your ID please?" he asked casually.

Me and June were looking at the yellow spray bottles called 'Paralyz-Heal!' with a Seel's white face smiling under the large green capital letters, its red tongue sticking out from beneath its fangs. I turned to the store owner. I told him that I didn't quite catch what he said.

"Your trainer ID."

I looked at him dumbfounded. He didn't say anything, but his attitude went from cheerful to being irritated. I suddenly remembered what I had in my back pocket - my Poké Dex. Gavin gave it to me after I had been registered as a trainer. I pulled it out and handed it to him.

He furrowed his eyebrow as he looked at it. "I have no idea how to work those things."

I told him that I was sorry, and that I was a new trainer. He said nothing about it, making me feel all of the awkwardness. I opened up my Poké Dex, and pressed Left on the directional pad. The screen scrolled to another screen with a confirming beeping noise. There was a screen with a large empty list, with the name Torchic at the top with blanks and numbers under the name. The next screen displayed Torchic in the upper left-hand corner, with five other blank spots with names. The screen after took me by surprise. It was the picture of me back in Gavin's lab. Underneath my face was my name and an assortment of numbers and letters beginning with 'ID:'

ID: R3C141M

I showed the shop owner the picture on the Poké Dex. He looked at the numbers, nodded, and asked me how many Poké Balls I wanted and that they were 25 dollars a ball. I reached around into my bag's side pocket and pulled out a hundred dollar bill. 250 dollars left.

He handed me four Poké Balls. I put three in my bag, and test one out by pressing the center button. It expanded in my hand. I shrunk it and put in the bag with the rest.

After saying thanks, I asked the shopkeeper if he could tell me how to get to Violet City. He lead me out to the front of the store and pointed out a dirt trail that cut through the surrounding trees - Route 30 - and that it will turn to Route 31, but to keep following it. I told him thanks and went on my way, with June tweeting jubilantly once we left the town.

---

Route 30 had its trees to either side of the dirt path. I could hear the birds chirping and I saw Sentret and Furret in the trees chasing each other. Zigzagoon would go across the path periodically, with their pups following right behind the mother. I had set June down on the ground to tread alongside me.

I was extremely cautious over all of the Pokémon I saw on the way. I had my Poké Dex in one hand ready to whip out when a Pokémon passed, June's Poké Ball in the other to call her back fast, and the empty Poké Balls in my side pockets ready for when I want to capture a Pokémon.

The major problem was that I didn't know how to make June attack. It was a foolish sight. I would stop and shout at June to sick a Pidgey that was picking food from the ground, and June would just look up at me, chirping. Using the Poké Dex, I found a list of attacks a Torchic knows and can learn. What excited me the most were the attacks called 'Flamethrower' and 'Fire Blast'. The idea of June breathing fire pushed my adrenaline. I remembered seeing a number of Pokémon that could breathe fire on TV in those championship battles...colossal dragons breathing fire over their opponents to a crisp.

I had to stop myself from thinking too much then. I was getting too giddy. Even though I hadn't done much as a proper Pokémon Trainer, I was beginning to savor the possibilities. A part of me wanted to stop and consider what I was turning into, whether or not if I could accept being forced to be a Pokémon Trainer.

Instead, I told myself I'd think about all of that later, and that I would just feel good for this moment with what little I had in my possession. Fate replied a few meters ahead on the path with the strangest bird I had ever seen at the time.

The bird was shining from the sunlight. Its feathers had the color and gloss of steel. Its wings were folded to its sides, making the shape of a narrow blade on either of its sides. It was eating from the ground with the Starly and Spearow peacefully, yet it was a colossus compared to them. Its talons dug into the ground, taking out chunks of dirt and slinging it away. The beast would bend down into the hole and peck at its uncovered food with its knife-like head. Judging from the distance, the bird was as tall as me, which was intimidating.

I took out my Poké Dex and scanned it.

"Skarmory. The Armor Bird Pokémon. Despite being clad entirely in iron-hard armor, it flies at speeds over 180 miles per hour."

I could feel the empty Poké Balls in my left pocket. I wanted the Skarmory. With June, it would make a great team.

I put June's Poké Ball in my bag, took an empty Poké Ball from my pocket, and pressed its button. The ball pushed my fingers as it expanded. I could hear my dad talking to me as he did long ago about how to throw a baseball. "Aim for the head." "Imagine your arm's a gun and just pull the trigger in your shoulder." "Let the ball roll from your fingers."

The ball flew perfectly from my grasp.

I, however, didn't stop to think that this was a creature with functioning eyes.

The Skarmory saw the ball flying toward it. It extended its metal wings, showing crimson-colored metallic inner feathers, and fluttered away from the ball's path. The Poké Ball landed in the grass beyond the birds, who immediately went airborne at the disturbance. Most of the birds flew away. The Skarmory stayed and flapped its wings toward me, making an unearthly screeching noise from its throat.

It came to me like an angry hornet. I took a step back to prepare to run for it. I pulled out June's ball to call her back. The Skarmory closed in at that very moment and bit my arm. Even though I could see a bit of my flesh being ripped from my right arm, the surprise was what was registering the most. I think I began to cry in fear at this moment.

I ran back down the path I had come from, holding my arm with the other. At that moment, I felt hopeless. I began not to care about June anymore. She could've been eaten by the metal bird. I just didn't want to die.

Within a few seconds, the Skarmory caught up to me and pushed my bag, knocking me down. I tasted the dirt, busting my lip. The bird had set itself on the ground and began to screech at me, strafing around me as if I was its opponent. I screamed for help.

June, from down the path, jumped onto the Skarmory. It tweeted as it attempted to scratch the Skarmory's metallic body. This, along with the noise of the Skarmory, was an unearthly noise, yet somewhat relieving since the Skarmory wasn't attacking me. I laid on my side watching the small orange bird clawing at the larger metallic one.

The Skarmory jerked its neck and threw June across from me. It charged June and, with its wing, slashed her across her chest in a clean, backhanded motion. June's blood splattered in a line on the ground before she collapsed. I suddenly felt alone in the world.

A pool of my own blood was forming under my wounded arm. I saw a small trail of it pass my eyes, going across the tiny grains of dirt in front of my eyes. I can only assume that I was feeling trauma at the time, because I felt a mix of fear, despair, and, extremely strange, contentment. I had barely even gotten into my fate of a Pokémon Trainer, yet there was a chance that it was going to end with me being killed by a Pokémon. Images of my parents and their reaction to my death played through my head. All they did was sip their coffee while sorting through funeral expenses.

I know I was crying at this moment.

I had no idea what the Skarmory was doing, but I saw June turn over on her stomach, painfully. A pool of blood was forming around her also. She shot up, but fell over just as fast out of dizziness. She was a lot stronger than me.

A miracle happened and if you had asked me a bit after the event, I would've said I had a hallucination. I have no idea where it came from, but the appearance of it scared me so badly that my heart skipped a few beats.

An orange dragon flew out of the trees on the side of the path, into the air. It flew too far above my eyesight for me to catch a good glimpse of it, but I noticed that it had a flame on its long tail. I heard it roar. The Skarmory screeched.

I rolled onto my stomach and attempted to crawl toward a heavy-breathing June, but my wounded arm gave out. Using my left arm and legs, I raised myself up and stumbled toward her. I plopped next to June and felt her wound. My fingertip grazed the cut. I could feel where her skin and flesh was deeply separated. Her body heat wasn't as warm as it normally was.

The dragon landed on the ground, with its back turned toward us. I looked up at its wings, where the bones were somewhat visible from the light skin on the edges. The flame on the tail flickered as the tail swung back and forth. The dragon seemed anxious like a dog, yet it growled.

The Skarmory charged the dragon. The dragon's tail flame suddenly ignited and grew three times its previous size. The heat was suppressive and my brow began to sweat. June began to chirp as the flame swept close to us. She wasn't in the best shape, but she was breathing a bit more normal.

The dragon emitted fire from its mouth. From the angle I was at, it looked like a pillar of fire fell on the Skarmory. Then, in one clean motion, the dragon snatched the charred Skarmory into its jaws right before it could fall on the ground. There was a loud crunch, and the dragon slung the bird over my head. The Skarmory let out a pitiful screech before it hit the ground, motionless.

I heard someone. A young man.

"Oh damn! Are you alright?" He said urgently.

I turned to the voice. There was a black-haired teenager running toward me from the direction of where the dragon came from. He slid onto his knees toward me. He grabbed my wounded arm. I winced.

"Oh God! I'm sorry. I can help you." He saw June. "I can help your Torchic too."

The guy was wearing a green vest with many pockets. He dug into one of the pockets on the side and pulled out a small purple and white spray bottle. He put it over my wound and sprayed three times.

It stung as it bubbled on the wound. I bit the side of my tongue as I winced. He sprayed June also. She cringed.

The stranger sighed in relief. "****ing Skarmory...that thing is _not_ native to this part of Johto. This is not a damn mountain region."

He looked at the corpse of the Skarmory. "I guess a trainer let it loose here. It's pitiful."

I wanted to stand up. I held June with my good arm and positioned my legs. The stranger saw me struggle and grabbed me by my waist to help me up.

"You and your Pokémon will be alright," he said. "Even though the Pokémon League makes those antibacterial potions for Pokémon, they work well on humans also. Your Torchic absorbed some of the heat from my Charizard as well, so it got a small bit of an energy boost. You may want to take it to a Pokémon Center when you next run into one."

The stinging sensation from the potion died out. I saw that the wound was now covered with a strange smooth film that was darker than the color of my skin.

The stranger saw me looking at it. "That scar will fade away, but it'll be replaced by a small permanent scratch." He rolled up his showed me his bare arm. "See?"

I saw a number of discolored scratches upon muscles and large veins. This person was strong. He wore a white T-shirt under his vest, with black cargo pants and boots. His face, young but older than mine, had a few scars also.

"Your Torchic is going to keep a scar too. My Charizard has a number of them, see?"

The Charizard turned around as its Trainer mentioned it, providing my first good view of it. Its white belly had a cloud of red scratches on it. Some of its orange scales were missing, revealing dark underskin. I looked up at its head. Its eyes were frighteningly similar to a person's, with blackness within white. A number of scars were on its snout. The dragon was intimidating to stand in front of.

I mouthed "Thanks" to the person that had saved me and June. He said no problem and asked that if I was hungry. He said that he'd have the Skarmory plucked and cooked for the both of us in thirty to thirty five minutes. I watched him walk to the smoking, sizzling corpse. He crouched and poked it, and immediately withdrew his finger, waved it in the air from the heat, and put it in his mouth. The Charizard stomped over to him. Its owner looked up at the Charizard and talked to it.

"Can you cook this thing for us? I'm sure you remember how we did when we were coming down from Blackthorn."

He got up and ran over to me. The Charizard began to blow a stream of fire on the corpse.

"You have any water Pokémon on you?"

I told him the Torchic was my only Pokémon. He smiled at her and rubbed her head. I told him her name was June and I asked him what his Charizard's name was.

He rubbed the back of his head, looked off to the side, and gave a goofy smile. "I'm horrible with names. He doesn't have one."

He stayed in that pose for a few seconds longer than needed. He blinked, and then shoved an open hand in front of me.

"I'm Robert Cypress. Call me Rob."

I looked up at him, at his now stern face. I stood straight and shook his hand. "I'm Ed Willow."

"Willow? I've heard of Professor Gavin Willow. You're related to him?"

I told him that was my brother.

"Awesome. I've read some of his journal articles on Pokémon."

He just stood in front of me smiling for a few seconds before he walked off into toward trees. It was awkward. I was expecting him to ask me if I was a Pokémon Trainer since he linked Gavin and his job with me. Instead, he shouted out to me to follow him.

Rob yelled out to his Charizard. "Bring the Skarmory with you. We're going back to camp."

The Charizard stopped its flames. The corpse was glowing from the intense heat as if it was being heated by a blacksmith. The Charizard picked it up with its jaws and took flight, flying above the trees, going ahead of us.

Rob and I walked through shrubbery and foliage. I could see various sizes of Caterpie and Butterfree in the trees, some as small as my index finger and others as large as half my body (which scared to me to hell, but Rob pretty much yanked me away when I was stiff).

We reached a clearing where we found the Charizard blowing fire on the corpse again. It was standing on a rock, right above a small brook. Next to the rock was a large backpack and three rolled up mats.

"Here's where I've been spending the past few days. Nice little place."

He turned toward me.

"Well wash up. I'll get started on dinner."

I told him I had sandwiches. I swear his mouth began to water. I set June down, who was already anxious to walk, and pulled out a sandwich for Rob. He shook his head and said to save it for dinner.

The sun was beginning to set. I sat cross-legged and watched Rob and his Charizard prepare the Skarmory in front of me. From something that looked inedible, it started to look extremely tasty. Rob explained that Charizard was essentially cooking the meat inside the steel and making the metal softer and looser, which would make the meat retain all of its juices. The Charizard held the heated corpse with its jaws and dunked it into the brook. Steam sizzled and rose to the air. After a few minutes, the Charizard pulled it out and placed it in front of Rob.

Rob removed a hunting knife from the large backpack and shoved the blade into small grooves on its neck, saying that the neck had the weakest steel on the entire body. He pulled the blade out, showing me the trace amounts of blood to tell me that it was cooked. He put the knife back into the groove and peeled off the plate of steel. Chunks of meat was on the plate's underside. He handed it to his Charizard, who was looking over his shoulder. It grabbed it with its clawed hands and began to lick it gleefully.

"When you heat up a Skarmory long enough, the tendons that hold onto its steel skin get weaker. I just stick a knife in between the grooves of the neck and start peeling my way around and down."

He caught me off guard when he removed the plates around the neck and carved the head off, putting it to the side. He laughed.

"You'll get used to it."

He gave me one of the plates. Small bits of pink flesh were on the underside. Out of curiosity, I grabbed a piece with my front teeth. After a bit of pulling, the piece let go and I chewed. The tendon was strong and dry, but tasted like a not-so-sweet Swellow.

I let June have get a bit off of the plate. She was cautious at first, making me remember that she was an infant. She took a sniff of the meat as if to test if it was edible, then took a bite. She chewed, swallowed, and took more bites.

Rob, slowly and carefully, removed the plates on the breast and legs. He took off plates on the base of the wings and twisted them. The breaking of the bones was disturbing to listen to, but looking at the steaming bare flesh was making my stomach grumble. After the wings were twisted, he took his knife and began to carve the wings off where he removed the plates. He put the wings to the side.

"You should take a feather off a wing and wrap some cloth around its base. It'll make a good knife."

I took note of this.

He carved off a large chunk of breast and began to rip it in half. As he ripped it, I could see strands of pinkish-red flesh tear. No blood dripped. He handed me the biggest half.

"Dig in."

And I did. It was tastier than the bits of meat stuck on the plate from before. It was very sweet and tender, as if the Skarmory had its own spices and seasoning within its body. I gave a piece to June, who ate it wholeheartedly. Rob further tore his piece in half and gave the biggest one to his Charizard.

---

Rob gave me a mat to sleep on. The both of us laid down the mats at the resting Charizard's tail. June rested the closest to the flame.

Me and Rob talked about small things that night, but I mainly asked about who he was and where he was from. He told me that he was from the Kanto region and that the Charizard was the fully evolved form of his first Pokémon, a Charmander. He explained that he was looking forward to competing in the next Johto Pokémon League Championship. To back this up, he pulled out a white cloth from his backpack wrapped upon himself. At first, I didn't understand what it meant, but when he unwrapped it, I saw eight shiny, multi-colored badges in a line.

"These are Kanto badges."

He told me about the various towns he visited and the number of challenges he went through to get his badges. He told me that each gym specialized in a certain type of Pokémon. I asked him if he went through all of them with his Charizard. He told me he had other Pokémon, but they weren't with him at the moment - that they were in his 'box'. Seeing my confusion made him explain that boxes were where trainers stored the Pokémon they didn't need at the moment. He went on to talk about how trainers could only have six Pokémon at a time.

"Each trainer can have six occupied Poké Balls registered to his ID at one time in his physical possession. The moment you catch a seventh Pokémon, the ball is teleported to your Box. You can access your Box in Pokémon Centers."

I told him that I was interested in going to the Violet City gym to get the badge there. He immediately promised me that he'd show me how to catch a Pokémon and find an electric type for me to use.

"And one more thing," he said. "Want to make a deal?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well...I could show you the ropes on how to be a better Trainer. You think you could stick with me until I reach Ecruteak City?" I can help you out with gyms, definitely."

I asked what he would gain out of it.

"I'm in Johto to see the sights pretty much. I didn't have my eighth badge in Kanto when the Kanto Championship began. I had also missed the Sinnoh and Hoenn Championships. Johto's is some months away. Traveling would be a good way to train my Pokémon also, and I'd be able to get information on the strongest trainers here and prepare for them. I hate how random the Championships start sometimes...." He looked up at the night sky. "Hell, if you're fast enough, we may end up in the Championship together."

It made sense to me, and I appreciated it. I said it was fine.

Rob smiled. "Nice. Tomorrow, we head to Violet City." He turned over to his side, facing away from me. "And now, we sleep."

I shifted over and laid on my back with my eyes closed. After today's events, I found myself falling asleep quite fast. Sleeping on the ground wasn't as bad as I thought it was, but I do admit that I sort of missed my own bed.

That feeling would leave me eventually. I think Rob had the biggest hand in it.

---

_How was that? You read through it all? My writing in this one was sort of shoddy I think. It was quite fun to write though._

_RnR._

_-Afro  
_


	4. Chapter IV: First Catch

_Sorry the long time without any update. I was preoccupied with final exams and I had to write more chapters to the story ahead of time. As of right now, I have up to chapter 8 completed. When I complete chapter 9, I'll post chapter 5 and so on._

_Anyway, read and review! This chapter's incredibly long and I'll probably split it up since it has too much content. Also, later on in the story, my writing style changes. I'll incorporate the changes to these chapters I've posted so far sooner or later. I may just wait until I complete the entire story._

---

Chapter IV - The Test

--

--

_"...First we found her arm. One of the rescue men was digging through the all the broken wood...and he pulled it out, thinking it was someone buried under. He fell on his back and screamed. Well...we screamed. From the way the arm looked, we guessed that she was eaten whole with her arm sticking out of the mouth, reaching for something...for help I guess. Since we found the baby nearby, we all guessed that we found what remained of the mother._

_...You want to know how we knew it was a woman's arm? It was too slender and there was a bracelet around the wrist. We later identified the bracelet as belonging to a woman named Amber Onslett."_

~Excerpt taken from 'Interviews of Vermillion City's People After The Attack'.

---

---

---

I was shaken awake and woke up with a jolt. My eyesight was fuzzy, and everything was still dark, but I could see Rob grinning. He had me by my shoulders.

"Dude, you gotta get to the Violet City Gym and register! Get up!"

I rubbed my eyes and face. June was wide awake and chirped up at me merrily. A slightly chilly breeze brushed against my skin, making me shiver and my teeth lightly chatter. I picked her up and held her close to get her warmth. She buried her head in my chest.

"You don't have a coat?" asked Rob, watching the leaves shift gently in the wind. "We're in the northern part of Johto now. I figure it gets like this in the early morning in the summer, and probably worse in other times of the year."

I turned my head and saw Rob massaging his Charizard's face. He wasn't wearing a coat either to protect his bare arms, but he didn't seem to care. The large lizard wagged its tail similar to a happy and excited Eevee. I pictured Rob playing fetch with the Charizard by throwing a branch. The image made me laugh.

"Well get up and give me your mat. I got you up at early because we have a few things to do today."

I put June down and got up. I stretched my arms and back and gave a long yawn. I stopped and thought about what I was doing at that moment. I flexed my back, expecting a pop. I didn't feel or hear one. I honestly slept comfortable outside for the first time? On that flat mat over the hard earth? I was pleasantly astonished and began to roll up the mat. "Get the badge and what else?" I asked.

"I gotta teach you how to catch Pokémon and train them," he answered. Rob dug into his back pocket.

"Look at this."

Rob pulled out a PokéDex and tossed it to me. I caught it with fumbling fingers. Rob just gave his goofy chuckle.

"Open it," said Rob. "I already have it set to the page I want you to read."

I examined the device. Rob's PokéDex was the exact same as mine, but more worn. The cover had lost most of its red paint, revealing a dull metallic surface. As I opened it, I heard a small loose screw shake. I guessed it was in the cover, since it wasn't as stiff as mine. The two screens lit up. I saw a map of Johto on the top screen, with the current route blinking. On the second screen was a list of Pokémon listed under "KNOWN POKEMON IN AREA". The list consisted of common woodland Pokémon I knew of such as Pidgey, Rattata, Shinx, Starly, and Swellow. Next to their names was a chart with a symbol of the sun, half a sun, a moon, and red dots.

"Click on Shinx," insisted Rob.

I scrolled down to Shinx and hit the side button. A picture of a Shinx replaced the map. Its fore body was covered in a light blue fuzz. Its tail and hind legs were covered in a dark fur. A small patch of yellow fur covered its front wrists and a patch of yellow hair was on the tip of its tail. The insides of its ears were as yellow as the irises of its eyes. Its data entry on the bottom screen read:

_The extension and contraction of its muscles generates electricity. It glows when in trouble._

"Go back to the screen before," said Rob. "It should tell you that Shinx are in this area in the morning."

I pressed the Left button. The map returned to the top screen and the list of Pokémon at the bottom one. I looked at the entry for Shinx. A red dot next to its name was underneath the full sun icon. Since a red dot wasn't underneath the half-sun and moon, I assumed that this all meant that Shinx appeared in the area in the morning time.

"I haven't seen any Shinx here, but the PokéDex hasn't proved me wrong yet. Let's get going. We have to get done with this route and another to reach Violet City."

I navigated to the route ahead of us on the PokéDex. A red dot appeared under the full sun and half sun icon. I assumed the half sun icon meant daytime or afternoon.

"In the next route, Shinx stay out later," I told Rob.

"Oh? Nice. Then we'll make our way through this route, then the next one. If we can't find you a Shinx in Route 30, we'll find you one in Route 31. Then get to Violet City and we'll be able to stay at an inn. You have any Poké Balls?"

I nodded.

"Good," said Rob cheerfully. He took my mat and put it in his backpack. He put the straps on his shoulders. "Well, let's get going. We should be able to reach Violet City by evening."

June followed by my side. Rob's Charizard took to the dark violet sky and drifted above us. We got on the main road and followed it north. As the sun started to come out, the weather warmed up and became quite comfortable at the touch of my skin. We began to see other people on the road, some heading south to Cherrygrove and others going toward Violet. Most of the people were around my age and alone. A few reminded me of Alice, with her demanding, pushy attitude. I expected one of them to challenge me. Most, however, reminded me of the kid with the Eevee I saw Alice beat - pitiful and frail. I couldn't tell if they were looking at me or Rob, but they'd take a glance with a fearful look and walk around us. A few of them even started bolting down the path. I noticed that most of them were coming from behind us and heading north.

I opened my mouth to tell Rob what I was thinking, but I saw his expression and stopped myself. Rob seemed concerned about something. He frowned every time a one of those pitiful kids appeared and watched them with a trailing stare.

A brown-haired girl with a dirtied white smock, holding a baby in bundle of blankets in her arms, came up from behind us. She looked to be about as old as I was. The moment we both locked eyes, hers grew large from shock. She ran, showing her blistered and cut up bare feet. He had a downhearted expression as he watched her run.

"Do you think some of these people were forced to be trainers too?" I asked without thinking. I said the first thing on my mind.

My words seemed to have drawn Rob out of deep thought. He blinked a bit, and looked at me. He managed to put a small, unconvincing smile on his face.

"I think so. It's a sad sight."

I recalled that he said he was from Kanto. "Was it like this back at your home too?" I figured while we were walking would be a good time as any to ask him about himself.

Rob gave a slight snicker under his breath. "Yeah. Just like this," he said with a bit of melancholy. He said nothing else to imply he wanted the conversation to continue.

Another memory came into my head. I remembered I came up with a question that bugged me back when I was in the Cherrygrove Inn, right before I fell asleep. I guessed Rob would know the answer.

"Why are people forced to become trainers?"

"It's the law," snapped Rob in a grave tone. I was taken aback by how immediate he responded. His expression was sorrowful, with pitiful eyes.

It seemed like I struck something in Rob. Thinking about his reply, I thought about my situation and put two-and-two together.

"So...kids in school who do poor are forced to become Pokémon Trainers?" The memory of the letter being sent home and my father reading it came back in a haunting fashion. "I failed my math class twice...I wonder how I can count to two...?"

Rob didn't respond to my horrid attempt at humor, nor did it stop me from becoming depressed. He looked down at me with uneasiness. He sighed slowly before he said anything.

"Yeah," began Rob. "First, kids are forced to go to school. Then, if they do badly, they're given Trainer IDs, starter Pokémon, and thrown out of their own home." Rob kept his eyes on the road below our feet, squinting. He bit his lips together. The way he was acting made wonder if we both were on the same page as far as being thrown out into the world went.

"Were you forced to become a Trainer too?"

He shot a glance at me, as if I had insulted him. I partially expected him to snap at me again; it honestly seemed like he could. He didn't however. Instead, he just gave a warm smile.

"Nah. I chose," Rob said quietly.

I nodded. I liked Rob's answer. I believed that a person should choose to be a trainer rather than being forced to do it. Sending kids out into the world just because they did poorly in a class was a horrid idea. I began to wonder who exactly came up with such a stupid law and the reason why they did it.

The thinking led to me thinking about myself. I had been ignoring my own issues by focusing on the law itself. Here I was, walking down a beaten route, to do what exactly? Get a badge? The Pikachu in my head had literally got off its Pikachu wheel and said 'What the hell am I doing? What the hell _should_ I be doing?' The fact that I had spent the night outside last night and made plans to go to Pokémon Gyms to get badges made me realize that I wasn't in control in my life anymore. That choice about getting eight badges and not being forced to be a trainer? You thought that was conscious thought Ed? You're still going to be a trainer, regardless of what you do or how you do it.

'What the hell _can_ I do?'

I gazed up at the now blue and cloudless sky. It reminded me of a cartoon I watched when I was younger...a cartoon I watched on my own TV in my own home.... The sky was exactly the same in the cartoon, except, someone made it break like a glass window, causing it to rain shards and exposing the dark void behind the sky. I wanted the sky to shatter like it did in the cartoon and I wanted the shards to cut me into a million pieces.

"Yeah, I think people should choose whether they want to be trainers or not. Being a trainer..." Again, I thought about being thrown out of my home by my parents and how they reacted. "It's kind of miserable."

Rob grunted and shrugged. "It's only as miserable as you make it. It sounds like you were forced into being a trainer, were you?"

I kept silent and I fell out of step with June and Rob. Seeing June's orange feathery head made a peculiar, gnawing ache in my heart. I turned my eyes away from her. She was so innocent and here I was complaining, but I did have the right to complain...right? I began to ask myself 'Why me?' My thoughts went from wondering why I ended up with June, to thinking about if I really did care for her, to if Rob could take better care of her and I could just run away somehow.

I reached a point in my mental labyrinth that considered killing June out of some form of mercy. I stopped myself from going any further. I was already beating myself up as it is.

Rob took my lengthy silence as a 'yes'. "What's your goal?"

I didn't answer. Did Rob understand my thoughts? Were they that obvious?

"Why do you want league badges? Why are you even out here heading to Violet City?" asked Rob. His tone was more aggressive and exhorting than it had been since I met him. I couldn't tell if he was getting angry at me and not showing it, or showing disappointment and not showing it either. I decided to be honest with him. I figured he deserved it. I silently scoffed at myself for being honest with Rob even though I only knew him for a day. I really was pathetic.

"I don't want to be stuck in a job I was forced to take," I managed to get out finally. My voice was deathly quiet. "I want to have a choice over my life...."

Saying those words made me feel like felt I was relieving a heavy weight off my chest. Rob listened without a word. I could only see his cheek and the back of his head. A part of me didn't want to see his face, yet another wanted him to turn around and tell me that everything would be okay. I found myself shouting.

"And I was almost killed by a Pokémon! Hell, if you hadn't have appeared, I would've already been dead a few days out of my house! And How do you know your Charizard won't attack you? It can fly and breathe fire! What could you do if it did? That thing's probably ferocious!"

Rob said nothing. Every insecurity I had was pouring out. I stopped walking and went on with my outburst.

"And what am I doing out here all alone?! I'm only thirteen! And it's the damn summer! I should be..." I started to stammer, "I should be with my family! But no! Here I am...here I am." I placed my hands on my forehead in disbelief in what had happened in my life so quickly. "I'm afraid. A part of me thought that this whole Trainer thing could be interesting, you know? I thought this...this was something I could do.... I thought I could make due with it...."

I had a small grasp on what I was talking about. I felt like I was just running my mouth. Rob had turned around to face me. I looked into his face and saw none of the pity that I wanted. Instead, he smirked and crossed his arms. His features suggested that he expected me to act this way. He reminded me of Gavin back at the Pokémon Lab, watching me in my torment, not doing a thing.

"And who are you?!" I demanded. "Why didn't you just go off on your own? Why do you want to stick with me for? I have no idea where to go or what I want to do... I just..." I dropped to my knees and my hands balled into fists. I raised them in the air and slammed them on the ground. "I'm just a kid!"

I felt the too-familiar burning sensation behind my eyes. I resisted crying in front of Rob. I was already being weak in front of him, on my knees and throwing a tantrum. I heard June chirp with curiosity. Bawling again wouldn't help anything. Nothing else came out of my mouth. The rush of anguish was making my head hurt. Rob stooped down and put a comforting hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him.

"You sure do trust me a lot for someone you just met yesterday," he said softly. My eyes shifted to the side in embarrassment, but the small distraction soothed me a little.

"You're thinking too much at the moment. That's a good thing, but stop thinking just for this one moment. Check it out."

Rob pointed to the sky at his Charizard, who was fluttering in one spot above the deeper part of the trees.

"I had him on the lookout for a Shinx while we were walking. I think he found one for you."

Rob gave a loud whistle and waved up at it. I remained speechless. Rob was as good as his word. He actually found a Shinx for me to catch. I stayed in my position, looking up at him as he watched his Charizard. I had only known him for a day but he...–

I followed his advice. I stopped thinking for the moment. I let my instincts run my body.

I found myself running toward the Charizard with Rob behind me. I stopped before entering the trees and searched around my feet.

"Where's June?" I asked.

Rob chuckled at my mood change. "What do you mean? She climbed on your shoulder when you were on the ground. Pokémon tend to do things like that."

I nearly jumped when I looked at my shoulder and saw her talons. She had been holding on to me lightly. Was I getting used to her being there and at my side? I reached over to her neck and groomed it. She shook her head approvingly and rubbed her large skull against my fingers. I could hear my doubts about everything whispering in the back of my head, but I ignored them. I planned on attempting to capture a Shinx. I ran into the trees, keeping an eye on the Charizard through the canopy above and on the foliage in front of me. I stumbled over a few roots and caught myself before my face hit the ground. With the odd, newfound determination made by being ignorant to my own thoughts, I got up and made my way.

"Hey! Wait up!" shouted Rob from behind. I could hear him huffing. I could hear my own self huffing, though I kept running. June chirped noisily in excitement. I was surprised she was still hanging on to me as I dodged low-hanging branches and large roots.

Once the Charizard was over my head, it flew away from its spot and back toward the main road. I took it as a sign that I had reached the area where it found a Shinx. I found myself in a clearing with moss on the trees. Through the beams of sunlight that penetrated the leaves above, I could see the small Shinx eating the matted carcass of a Ratatta. The carcass was partially mauled with some ribs sticking out that were licked clean, making me question if the Shinx hunted the Ratatta down or not. The Shinx looked up at me with its wary yellow eyes as it took bites from the dead flesh. The sides of its blue, furry mouth were specked with drops of blood and chunks of meat.

I reached into my pocket and grabbed a Poké Ball between my index and middle finger.. Before I could actually pull it out of my pocket, a hand grabbed my unoccupied shoulder. I nearly jumped out of my own skin.

"Weaken it," said Rob in a hushed tone. "Have your Torchic attack it."

My mind ran through ways of I could have June attack the Shinx. When I tried to have her attack wild Pokémon yesterday, she didn't do it. The Shinx was staring at me, June, and Rob with caution. It began to eat slower, its eyes shifting from one of us to the next.

The imagery reminded me of the Skarmory. An idea flashed into my head.

I pulled out the Poké Ball, expanded it, and threw it the way my dad taught me how to throw a baseball. It hit the Shinx right in the head. The Shinx stumbled a bit from the recoil and the ball rebounded into the air. The ball cracked open and the Shinx turned into a bright, shapeless light. The light was sucked into the ball, then the ball fell to the ground and shut itself close.

I expected to miss completely and the Shinx attack me like the Skarmory did. However, it went right into the ball.

I caught it? The ball rolled around by itself violently, bumping into roots and the Ratatta carcass. June and I gawked at it.

"Look. It's going to burst out," said Rob calmly. "This is why I told you to weaken it."

I kept my eye on the Poké Ball. It cracked open. Light shot out of it and formed a figure next to it - the Shinx. Once the light was removed, the Shinx growled and snarled. The ball's two halves separated, emitting a sizzling sound with a wisp of smoke coming from both parts.

I guessed it was going to attack me, even though I hit it with the Poké Ball. It charged. I took a step back and prepared myself to knock it back with my arm, but I remembered that it stored electricity in its body.

June leapt from my shoulder and in front of the Shinx. She chirped and twittered in an aggressive tone. She fluttered her wings while taking steps toward the wild Pokémon. The Shinx shuffled back and took a bite toward June. She jumped back the moment the Shinx's head came close enough. My adrenaline was rushing. I curled my right hand into a fist, but this time, to root June on.

My heart almost stopped when the Shinx's small teeth clamped down on June's right wing. She began to peck it with her beak.

"That's it June! Peck it!" I cheered.

"Good job. If she scratches, point it out. If she does anything, point it out," commanded Rob. He had his arms folded, looking as though he was a judge observing the fight. I turned my attention back to June and the Shinx. June had drawn blood from the center of the Shinx's head from her relentless pecking.

"Nice! Keep pecking its head!" I was screaming at the top of my lungs. My heart, even though it was rushing, felt light.

June listened and continued to peck in the wound. The Shinx jumped back to avoid her beak. A serpentine trail of blood slowly made its way down its face and to the side of its nose. June closed in on it to peck its head again. The Shinx sidestepped, and lunged toward June. She used the sidestep method herself to get out of the way. The sight was impressive. I had no idea June was that intelligent.

"Good dodging June! Keep it up!"

June and the Shinx strafed around each other. In a split second, June took her wings and fluttered slightly above the ground. She gained just enough airtime to scratch the Shinx in its face with her talons. I was shocked and amazed at how wild she was now in contrast to how she was usually cheerful and peaceful. The Shinx took a few steps back, then stumbled over its hind legs and fell over. It struggled to get back up on its feet, but collapsed. It wearily growled at June, half of its face in the grass.

"Very good June! I think you did it!"

I didn't need Rob's advice on what to do next. I pulled out another Poké Ball from my pocket, enlarged it, and threw it at the incapacitated Shinx. It was sucked into the ball, and the ball dropped on the grass below it. The shaking this time was soft. Even if it did manage to burst out of the ball, I didn't care. I ran over to June and picked her up in a tight hug. For the first time, she used her wings the best she could and hugged me back.

"You're so damn awesome June! I can't believe you did that!" I threw her into the air again and caught her. I couldn't have cared less about the Shinx. I had just witnessed June go into a completely different mode and beat it up. Rob was looking at us approvingly. I thought about how experienced he was and wondered if he ever felt this way when his Charizard wasn't evolved and had won a battle. I figured he was used to watching his Pokémon win.

"You did really good Ed. And on top of your victory, you just caught a Shinx," he said. I was dumbfounded by his words for a good minute. I pointed idiotically to myself as his words registered properly in my head. He started to snicker at my expression and nodded.

"Your face is honestly priceless," said Rob.

I stood there with June. We both blinked at each other. Then we looked at the ball the Shinx was in.

It had stopped moving. I ran to it and picked it up. I looked at the Poké Ball in my hand, struggling to find the right words to say. The feeling of victory had silenced the doubts in my head. The image of June fighting off the Shinx made me feel pride. The Shinx in the Poké Ball in my hand made me feel like I could do anything. It was as if a brand new day had begun inside of me. I beamed. I had just taken a step forward as a Pokémon Trainer.

A small voice piped in my head. It talked about whether or not what I did was of my own choosing. I shook it out of my head. I basked in the splendor of the victory.

"I think your PokéDex has been updated. Go to the page where it shows your current party," said Rob.

I nodded toward him and whipped out my PokéDex from my back pocket and instinctively navigated to the screen with June and the five blank spots. This time, there was June looking to the side with a Shinx to the right of her, looking in the same direction.

"Now, just get it to a Pokémon Center. It's still weak from that whooping June gave it."

I put the PokéDex back in my pocket and stared at the occupied Poké Ball again. I had just caught a Pokémon. I now had two Pokémon in my possession. I gleefully tossed the ball in the air, caught it, and shrunk it.

"Wow," exclaimed Rob, "you look like it's Christmas morning!"

I had to be honest - it felt like it. I stared at the shrunken Poké Ball. I wondered how many times I'd be able to experience something like this. I was uplifted.

I wanted to follow my fate a little bit more. I refused to think too much. Not now.

"Alright," I said, "now let's get to Violet City. I have a gym to register for and some Pokémon to heal."

Rob nodded. "Now you're thinking right. Let's go."

Me, June on my shoulder, and Rob made our way back to the main road through the trees. We went at a slower, careful pace this time around, holding branches back for each other and warning each other about roots. The upbeat attitude made it all go by faster and we were at the main road in no time. We found Rob's Charizard curled up on the ground, snoring.

"Wow, were we gone long?" I asked Rob.

Rob shook his head. "Nah, he's just tired. He hasn't had good rest in about a week." He reached into his pants' side pocket and pulled out a Poké Ball.

"I rarely ever do this to him," he said. He expanded the Poké Ball and held it out in front of the Charizard. A red beam shot out of the center of the ball and enveloped the Pokémon, sucking it in.

"He needs his rest...I guess." He shrunk the ball and put it back in its pocket.

I imagined Rob to have caught a ton of Pokémon over the course of his journey in Kanto. My accomplishment made more curious about him. "Do you just prefer your Charizard over the rest of your Pokémon? How many Pokémon do you have?"

I waited for him to pull out another Poké Ball and throw out another Pokémon. He didn't. He looked up in the air in thought, one eyebrow over the other.

"I'm more partial to him, but I do have others. Not on me though."

My expression fell somewhat. Rob noticed. He rubbed the back of his head in bashfulness.

"I only carry one of my Pokémon at a time nowadays. My Charizard is all I need pretty much. I rode on his back over Mount Silver to cross into Johto. He's fairly strong too and likes the air."

I remembered the eight badges he showed me. He must've had a decent number of Pokémon. "How many Pokémon do you have?" I asked. I didn't think he could've won eight badges with one Pokémon.

He went into thought again. This time, he began to mouth off things silently and count on his fingers. When he reached ten fingers, he counted again. He counted up to six fingers.

"Sixteen. Sixteen Pokémon. I use my Charizard the most, the other five in my main party I'll pull out when I have to, and the other ten I'm raising on and off."

Rob remained in thought. He arched his neck back and began to rub his chin. He was pondering deeply. Since we were in the middle of the road, I began to fear Rob would catch a sunburn.

"Ed," he finally said.

"Yes?" I said automatically.

Rob didn't say anything. He straightened up his stance and looked down at me and June, still in his thinking stance.

"You did a very good job with catching the Shinx, though you don't need to throw a Poké Ball at a Pokémon to provoke it. The first Poké Ball you threw became unusable the moment the Shinx busted out of it...so you wasted it. However, I think June will now attack a Pokémon if you tell her to..."

I looked at June. She chirped at hearing her name. I rubbed her neck and saw the bitemarks where the Shinx bit her. The areas where the teeth went in were dark red, but she wasn't bleeding. I didn't think she needed a potion. Her straight posture told me that. June had a scar on her chest and the bitemarks. She seemed to wear them proudly as battle scars.

"I was going to give you a Pokémon to use in the Violet City Gym once we reached there actually...but after your performance today, I don't think you'll need it."

The thought of a third Pokémon made me a bit excited, but then I thought about it. Rob was more experienced than I was. If he were to give me one of his Pokémon, I'd probably dominate the gym, for sure. I looked up again at June, who decided to bask in the sun. It felt good seeing her battle and come out the winner. Part of that joy came from her belonging to me.

"Yeah," I said calmly. "I want to see if June and my Shinx can do it themselves."

Rob stared at me for a second, smirking. I looked back at him with all the determination I was feeling. It was an awfully corny look. I was also smirking, but with a furrowed brow. I was attempting to look like a badass, to show him that I could get the badge. I got the look from my dad when he wanted to look hilariously cool in front of me, such as when he was fixing the roof or moving something heavy.

Rob laughed heartily. "Wow Ed. Keep that face up and you'll have eight badges in no time! ...But just loose the teeth."

I closed my mouth and loosened my eyebrows. "What do you think now?" I asked Rob.

He playfully put his hand under his chin and analyzed my looks. "Hmmm...yeah, that's better."

I chuckled. I felt empty of all my worrying for once. Again, I petted June. With her at my side, I felt like I could take on any trainer, the dumb law that made the mistake of making me a Trainer, and the entire world.

"Let's get going," said Rob. He pulled out his PokéDex and opened it. "We're nearly done with Route 30. Route 31 is very short." He became excited. He got in my face and started screaming. "And we'll run to the gym! Get you registered! Leave your Pokémon in the Pokémon Center! Get some rest! And win!"

"Hell yeah!" I cheered. With that, I started running north. June tweeted with ecstasy. Rob followed behind.

"We gotta make sure your Shinx knows some electric moves before you take on the gym. The Violet City Gym specializes in flying Pokémon," said Rob.

I looked over my shoulder. "All I need are June and my Shinx!" I gave Rob my smirk and a thumbs up.

The two of us ran the rest of Route 30. By the time we reached the end, we were both worn out and wheezing. I realized that I still had the Poké Ball with the Shinx in it in my hand. I shrunk it and put it in my back pocket, to keep it separate from what Poké Balls I had left. June jumped down from my shoulder and trotted beside me. Along the way, Rob was reminiscing about battles his Charizard was in when it was a Charmander. Apparently, Rob when on a large losing streak when he started as a Trainer. He was from a place called Celadon City and lost too many times against the Gym Leader there. The Gym Leader specialized in grass-type Pokémon, which added insult to injury to Rob since fire types have an advantage against them. He claimed that he learned a lot from the gym, and that the biggest lesson was that it doesn't matter what type a Pokémon is when it's up against another type - if the Pokémon is smart and strong enough, it will win no matter what. I took his advice to heart.

It took a few hours to cross Route 31. Rob, June, and I found ourselves walking alongside a vast meadow and a highway with passing cars. We could see people with bird Pokémon running with them, and a few flying on bird Pokémon that were big enough. A woman riding a Pidgeot flew overhead. I suddenly found myself wanting to raise a Pidgey.

"Pidgeot is a good Pokémon," said Rob as we entered the city limits.

Violet City wasn't what I had envisioned as a city. I believed that it should've been called violet Town instead. The biggest buildings reached to about ten floors, and they seemed to be inns. Unlike Cherrygrove, there were actual streets. Goldenrod was the definition of a city. This place had too much of a homely feel to it. There were too many houses lined up on the sides of the street. I was reminded of New Bark Town, but less suburban. There definitely were more people in Violet City than in New Bark Town. We passed by various stores filled with them. I also noticed that there were more streetlights on the sides of the streets in the city than in New Bark Town. They were all on.

We reached an intersection. My feet were still getting used to walking on sidewalks again. I saw a colossal dome-shaped building down the avenue. The word 'GYM' was glowing in red neon lettering, sticking out in the dim dusk light of the sky.

"That's a Pokémon Gym?" I asked Rob. I pointed it out to him. He was occupied with eyeing two brown haired teenage girls who walked past him, wearing casual clothes. As they continued, they looked over their shoulders at him and began giggling at each other. Rob watched them as they turned the corner behind a building.

"Rob?" I snapped him out of his trance.

"Oh!" Rob turned to me and began laughing loudly. "It's been months since I last got some action. You gotta forgive me. Those girls were SO checking out my muscles."

Rob began flexing his arms, showing off his biceps and triceps. I sighed. I reached over and felt my right arm. I jiggled the loose fat, then sighed again.

"I see what you're doing, and I used to be just like you!" said Rob. He winked at me. "You should've told me before that you wanted to be fit!"

He put his hands to his hips and gave a smug smile and his eyes closed. "I'll be your personal body trainer and your trainer on being a Pokémon Trainer until we reach Ecruteak! A Pokémon Trainer trainer!" He gave an affirming nod.

I stood there in front of him, addled, trying to find the right words to explain my confusion. "...A Pokémon Trainer...trainer...?"

"Yep," said Rob. His eyes were still closed and his attitude, still haughty. "I'll show you the ropes until you're able to tie them into any knot you want. I'll give you the body that every girl wants, even if she's afraid to admit it."

I blushed and started laughing at him and the thought of me getting that fit. "Dude, cut it out."

Rob opened his eyes and frowned. "No, I'm serious, and I'll teach you how to act around girls too." He bent over and got awfully close to my face, to the point where he was looking up at me.

"I'll also teach you how to make girls go wild in bed too! You do that, they'll always stick with you, even if they don't want to."

I burst out laughing. I grabbed my sides from the pain. I really hadn't thought about girls much in my life until recently. Since I was 13 and getting older, I figured I would think about them more and more. I began to think about Alice when she was in the bed with me back in Cherrygrove.

"I actually had a girl in my bed once," I told Rob. His jaw dropped and he grabbed the sides of his head.

"What the ****?! Are you serious?! How old are you again?"

His expression was making me holler and my chest hurt. June began to chirp gleefully and jump around me. I managed to say "Thirteen. She was . . . " I nearly died laughing. I crouched on the ground in to gain composure. "She was...she was fourteen."

It was as if a Gengar came and took Rob's soul. I collapsed on my side, chortling. June decided to copy me by falling on her side, chirping.

"You have to be lying...that's...im-impossible," stuttered Rob. His jaw was still wide open. He looked like he could bow down to me at any moment.

I gained a little bit of my composure and got back up. "Yeah, well, she said she hoped to see me again."

Rob put his hands back on his hips as if to say 'You don't say?'. His face still had not changed.

I rubbed the dust off my jeans and shirt. June fluttered the herself clean. "Anyway, I think that's the gym I need to go to. Come on Rob."

I went on down the street alongside June. Rob followed. Speechless. As we got closer to the gym, the building began to loom over me. There were three lines of windows that went across it. For such an important building, I figured that it was too simplistic looking. We reached the glass automatic doors. The lights were on inside and I could see Trainers watching their bird Pokémon fly around. June went in first, causing the doors to retreat into the building. Rob and I followed.

The scent of bird droppings hit my nose like a Hitmonchan's punch. My hands shot up to my face to cover my nose and mouth. Rob did the same. June seemed unaffected. The building had large lights hanging from the vast ceiling. The place was definitely spacious enough for all of the bird Pokémon flying around in it. There were various trainers running around, watching their Bird Pokémon fly. There were benches and lockers lined up on the wall of the gym. All of this was around a circular Pokémon Stadium that was built into the ground.

Rob whistled through his hands at the sight of it. "That's impressive."

This was the first time I had ever set my eyes on a Pokémon Stadium in person. It looked like a massive hole in the ground with numerous bleachers at the side and stadium lights focused on the center. The actual battlefield was the deepest part. The entire thing was drawn out by a white material on what I assumed was sand. It honestly looked like a giant picture of a Poké Ball, with the center as another Poké Ball.

"What the hell?" commented Rob. "There's an out-of-bounds rule here, with flying Pokémon? Why do they have that border?" He took one hand off his face and quickly pointed out the border of the outside Poké Ball shape. We made our way down the bleachers. They felt like stone under my feet.

"This place looks bogus," complained Rob. "I'm not seeing why there even needs to be a drawn battlefield if the gym specializes with flying types. Seriously, I once fought in a water Pokémon gym that was a complete pool with a medium-sized floating platform in the center for Pokémon that couldn't swim. There were no markers in there at all. It made sense."

We reached the railing and peered over it. There were two large openings underneath the bleachers that were across from each other. In front of the openings were large metal squares with railing on the front and sides.

"Those things are called 'battle balconies.' The combatants get on one, they rise, and you get a first hand view and your Pokémon getting beat down below. You'll be in one soon and you will get _so_ used to them."

I imagined myself on the platform, throwing a Poké Ball down to the circle, calling out either June or the Shinx. I daydreamed that my opponent was some strong guy who threw down a Staraptor the size of the entire building.

I shook the thought out of my head. I was psyching myself out. Now wasn't the time for that, I told myself.

"You complained about the lines, yet you're talking about a water Pokémon gym that was a pool with a platform? We have the same principal here," said a smooth, female voice from behind us.

We turned around and looked up at the bleachers above us. A woman in dirtied suspenders stood facing us. She wore a white cap holding a broom. The lights reflected off her blue, swinging ponytail and the sweat on her brow. Trainers gathered behind her, some with bird Pokémon on their shoulders.

"I'm Felicity. I'm the leader of this gym. How may I help you two?"

She definitely didn't fit my idea of a gym leader. Rob nudged me. "Tell her you want to challenger her for the gym's badge," he whispered.

I took a step up. Inhaled, puffed my chest out, and stood straight. Since she was the gym leader, I believed I should give a good impression.

"My name is Ed Willow," I began. "I want to challenge you for this gym's badge."

Felicity grinned. "Oh really? Awesome. How many badges do you have?" She began to make her way down to us. I saw that she had a few freckles on her cheeks once she got closer.

"I have none...at the moment," I answered. I was a bit ashamed. I looked up at Rob. He winked at me.

"Oh ok. That's good! I have some hatchlings that I've been dying to try out!"

She got down to our level. She was taller than me, but shorter than Rob. She held out her hand toward me. I was confused at what she wanted, and a bit embarrassed by how she considered fighting me with babies.

"Go on Ed, shake her hand," said Rob. He turned to Felicity. "He's nervous. This is his first gym, and you know how that is...." He rolled his eyes, making her chuckle. I shook her hand.

"Ed Willow, huh? Nice to meet you. I'm glad you chose the Violet City Gym as your first Gym for your Johto League Challenge. Don't you have a father who's a professor?"

I shook my head. "Gavin Willow is my older brother."

"Ah, interesting. He's accomplished a lot." She turned her attention to Rob. "And what's your name? Do you want to challenge me too?"

Rob held a hand out in front of him and another on his chest. He planted a handsome smile on his face. "Oh no, I'm already at the final stretch of my challenge. I have eight badges from Kanto."

"Oh really? Can I see them?" asked Felicity. The trainers at the top came down the bleachers closer to see as well.

Rob shrugged. "If you want to. I don't keep them on my . . . immediate person." He did a circular hand gesture as he finished his sentence. He made Felicity giggle. He shot a glance toward me with a smirk as he put his backpack down and started digging in it.

He pulled out the folded white cloth. He handed it to Felicity with one hand. She took it in both and unwrapped it. Her eyes became saucers.

"Wow! The Rainbow badge, the Soul badge...I heard this one was the Earth badge...the Boulder...the Cascade...." Felicity named off the badges. The trainers behind her were either as impressed or more by Rob's badges.

"What exactly is your name?" asked Felicity.

"Robert Cypress," answered Rob. His voice fell a bit. "Yes...I am the brother of Roger Cypress."

Everyone gasped except for me and Rob. I had no idea who Roger Cypress was. Felicity and the rest seemed to have, however.

"THE Roger Cypress? Kanto, Sinnoh, and Johto Champion Roger Cypress? The Wall of Hell himself?"

Rob sullenly nodded, doing a bad job of hiding his feelings. Felicity and the others didn't seem to notice. They started to chatter among themselves. Rob looked over at me and shrugged.

"Well Rob Cypress, what brings you to Johto? Do you aim to complete the Johto League Challenge too?" asked Felicity.

"No, I'm just here to wait for the Johto League Championship to begin again. I missed out on the Kanto one."

"If you're any as good as your brother, you'll win it for sure," said one of the Trainers, a guy with a mohawk. "I've never heard of anyone coming from Kanto, competing in the Johto Championship, and losing."

"Yeah, that's true," exclaimed another Trainer, a girl with curly black hair and glasses, "let's see...you have Red Ash from I-don't-know-how-many-years ago...then Green Oak I think.... What was with those names anyway?"

"Don't forget Yellow!" shouted some guy from the back of the crowd. "She won both in Kanto and Johto!"

Felicity, Rob, and I just watched them talk about Pokémon Champions. She motioned for us to follow her back up the bleachers. While we climbed, Rob made sure to be in front of me so he could check her out. He whispered behind himself to speak to me.

"You know...I think without those disgusting clothes on, I bet she looks really good. What do you think?"

I watched her climb. Her clothes were incredibly baggy, so she must've had a smaller body underneath them. There wasn't much to go by. Her face was cute though. Her freckles made her face a tan color.

"I..dunno," I said. Rob seemed to say 'oh come on!' with his expression. I shrugged. He sighed.

We reached the top and followed Felicity to a door. I picked up June and set her on my shoulder so she wouldn't get in the way. She held it open for us. Inside was a small office. A bookshelf with various sizes of books was next to a metal desk with a pile of documents on it. On the wall was a black and white picture of a stern looking man with a younger, equally stern man. He was holding up a little girl with a dangling pigtails. Next to it was a cuckoo clock. Felicity dug through the papers on the desk and pulled out a small planner and a pen. She opened it.

"Now let's see here...today's what?" she asked herself. "June...seventh? A Thursday...."

I watched her flip through pages and mark several things. Rob was looking at her body, imagining what kind of figure she had. I wondered if he was going to make a move on her.

"How's Sunday at 1 PM?" she asked me. "I've been challenged by a number of Trainers already, but I have that time slot open."

"Oh that'll be great," answered Rob for me. "He'll be there at 12, waiting!"

"Alright then! Here...give me a sec." Felicity dug into the desk again and pulled out a small tablet. She scribbled on it, flipped the page, scribbled on the second page, and ripped both out. She handed them to us. "Anyone who challenges the Violet City Gym is allowed to stay in the inn down the street for free until the actual day of the challenge. It's a special promotion we have going on."

I was starting to appreciate the word 'free' after having to pay for Poké Balls yesterday and a night at the Cherrygrove inn. I looked at the sheet she gave me. Her writing was mostly illegible, but I could read where she wrote the number '3' in a box that asked for the duration of our stay. I folded it up and put it in my pocket.

"Where can we find a Pokémon Center?" asked Rob. "We just came from Cherrygrove and some of our Pokémon are worn out and wounded."

"There's one close by," replied Felicity. "The Gym's about to close for today so we can clean up. I'll walk you outside and show you where to go! How's that sound?"

"Sounds good," blurted Rob. Again, he got the word out before I did. We followed Felicity through the gym.

"Oh yeah, before we leave the building, I wanted you two to know that you aren't holding your mouth or noses anymore," she pointed out innocently.

I blinked and looked down at my hands, which were swinging at my sides. I saw Rob looking at his as well. We looked at each other in disbelief. Our eyes seemed to say 'What...are you serious?'.

"You get used to the smell once you're in here for more than a few minutes," commented Felicity as we walked out the entrance. "Then again, the scent kind of sticks with you unless you take a shower...." She frowned. Then, she pointed toward the street adjacent from the entrance. "Just go down that road to get to the Pokémon Center. You can't miss it. The inn you guys can stay at is right in front of it."

Rob took this as a cue. He crossed his arms over his chest, showing off the ridges and veins in his arms.

"Well, how about we both get cleaned up tonight? And tomorrow, you let me take you out to a restaurant or anywhere else here...?" asked Rob smoothly. Felicity blushed and put a hand to her mouth to stifle her giggling.

"I have a few battles tomorrow," she said. "I could go out at 7 in the evening though. I should be done by then. There's this new cafe near the local Pokémon Mart I've been dying to go to ever since it opened."

"Alright then, it's a date. Seven o' clock tomorrow then. I promise I'll be dressed in something more suiting. Hopefully..." he made sure to look straight in her eyes with a smirk "...I'll be able to see you without those cleaning clothes."

Felicity began to let out high pitched giggles. I wondered how old she honestly was. Then I realized I didn't know how old Rob was either. Watching him flirt with her made me think about Alice. I remembered she said she was heading to Azalea Town. I began to ponder if I'd be heading there, and if I'd ever see her again.

"Ok," said Felicity, still smiling and blushing slightly. "I have to go now and help clean up the gym for tomorrow." She looked down at me. "Feel free to come by tomorrow in the daytime to see me battle. The Trainers I'm fighting have three, four, and six badges. You may learn a thing or two about my strategy and about how Gym battles normally work."

I nodded, but again, Rob spoke before I could say anything. "Oh, he'll be there! You should've seen him earlier. We saw someone riding a Pidgeot and he couldn't stop talking about how he wanted one."

I shot him a dark glance because of his lie. He winced slightly.

"Pidgeot are reliable Pokémon. They're used more than Swellow and Staraptor. I primarily use mine for traveling around," said Felicity. She looked at June, who had remained quiet the entire time. I guessed seeing all the large bird Pokémon made her curious. "Torchic is a curious Pokémon. Even though it's a bird, it'll never fly, even when it evolves."

Felicity grabbed June's wings and held them up slightly. "Its wings are strong and heavy. Soon, the feathers will become smaller and finer and the muscles will become bigger. When this starts happening, pluck the bigger feathers."

I nodded to show her I'd listen to her. With that advice, she looked at me and gave me a nod. She looked up at Rob. The blush returning to her face.

"Seven?" she said. Her hands were behind her and she was kicking the back of her other foot.

"Seven," confirmed Rob. "I'll come by here to pick you up."

She stood there for a while, then turned around to enter the gym. Before she went in, she looked back and waved at Rob. He waved back.

We watched her go inside and lock the doors. She waved through the glass again at Rob. He waved back.

"Hey Ed," said Rob. We made our way down the street Felicity pointed out that had the Pokémon Center. The sun had fallen and the stars were out now. The streetlights lit up the street. Most of the windows of the buildings were yellow from the light inside. The buildings themselves were dark. The mixture of the colors gave off a violet hue, making me think that this effect was where the city got its name from.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"The papers said we'd be staying in the same room," Rob pointed out.

"Yeah...they did say that," I said in a low tone. I had a hint at what he was about to get at.

"You think, if I do bring Felicity in the room...you could..." He looked up at the sky mid-sentence. He stopped walking. I watched him. He seemed to be in deep thought, just like he was when we were back at Route 30. He had that concerned look about him again.

"You know what Ed? Never mind."

His action and demeanor confused me. "I don't mind leaving you two. I don't want to get in the way. She looked like she liked you enough," I said.

Rob didn't reply for a few seconds. He kept the same stance. "Let's get our Pokémon healed up. Tomorrow, we'll train our Pokémon. You have to get ready for Sunday."

He straightened up and grinned. "C'mon!" He ran in front of me down the street. For once, I followed.

The Pokémon Center was shaped as a dome as well, but smaller than the Pokémon Gym and had several other smaller domes attached to it through hallways. The biggest one had the words 'POKEMON CENTER' written above the entrance in red lettering. Next to the words was a medical cross. The entrance door was wider, and a number of people were going in and coming out of it with their Pokémon, mainly bird Pokémon. A little bald boy that walked past us had a Spearow on his shoulder.

"Yeah...pretty much any Pokémon League place is shaped like a dome. I think it's some Poké Ball theme...I dunno."

We went in. The main building was lit up with a clean crisp light. The circular room was filled with people and Pokémon either walking or running about. There were Chansey and Blissey with nurse hats pushing stretchers with wounded Pokémon on them. The sight reminded me of the Pokémon Lab back home.

In the center of the room was a round reception desk. I followed Rob to it, since this was my first time being in a Pokémon Center. The lady sitting inside the desk was a nurse with pink haired tied into a bun behind her head. In her lap was a sleeping Happiny wearing a very small nurse hat.

"Hello," said the nurse in a caring voice. "Welcome to Violet City's Pokémon Center. What may I help you with?"

I let Rob do all the talking. He didn't mind at all. "Me and my friend here would like to have our Pokémon healed. I have a very tired Charizard, he has a Torchic with a large scratch on its chest and some bitemarks, and he also has a Shinx that may be suffering from a slight concussion."

He handed her his Charizard's Poké Ball. I gave her my Shinx's Poké Ball and reached my arm out. June jumped onto the desk. She swung her large head around, looking at everything around her. She looked worried.

"Everything'll be fine," I whispered to her. "You're going to spend the night here and you'll feel better than before."

I rubbed her head. She snuggled my hand and chirped. "I promise," I finished, giving her a reassuring smile.

"Will it take at least a night to have all our Pokémon healed up?" asked Rob to the nurse. She was examining June's scratch. She picked her up and turned her around to see her bitemarks. June put her wings on the nurse's hands as if to push away, but her wings weren't strong enough. I was thankful. I figured June would get used to Pokémon Centers now.

"Come by three o'clock tomorrow. That would be your best bet," she replied, still examining June. She put her down and slid in her chair to a desktop computer at her side. Next to the computer was a glass cylinder with a small cloth stand. She put Rob's Charizard's Poké Ball in it, typed a few keys into the computer, and with a flash of light as if from a camera, the ball was gone.

"Charizard, ID P455I41?"

"That's exactly right," answered Rob. She put my Shinx's Poké Ball in the device. With a flash, it disappeared.

"Shinx, ID R3C141M?"

I nodded. The numbers looked like the word 'reclaim', making it easy enough for me to memorize. "Should I put my Torchic into its Poké Ball?" I asked her.

"Yes, please."

I put down my backpack. I had forgotten that it was on me the entire day. I popped my back and rotated my arms. Rob chuckled.

"You keep that up and you'll get muscles for sure," he said. I rolled my eyes and smiled, then dug into my bag and pulled out June's PokéBall. I held it out and called her back into it. I gave the nurse the Poké Ball and she put it in the device. It teleported.

"Torchic, ID R3C141M...alright then. Everything's done. Is there anything else you two need?" she asked.

"Nope, we're done here. Thank you ma'am," said Rob.

"Yes, thank you ma'am," I said, following suit.

The nurse gave a caring smile. "Remember to come by tomorrow. I'll see you then. Goodbye!"

She turned to tend to another person at another part of the desk. Rob beckoned me to leave with him. We walked out of the Pokémon Center and saw the inn right in front of us. We walked in and showed the receptionist the papers Felicity gave us.

"You're trainers? Hold on," said the receptionist in a tired voice. She reached under her desk and pulled out two keys. She handed them to us. "Room 311, have a nice night...."

The both of us went to the elevator next to the desk. "With an attitude like that, I wonder how," I said under my breath. Rob nudged me with a smile. He pressed the third floor button and we ascended.

"Damn...I'm so worn out," yawned Rob. "Today was quite the day, huh? I'm going to take a shower and hit the sack. You should too."

The elevator stopped and we went down the hall. Rob unlocked Room 311's door and flipped the switch. It was a simple room with two red beds across from each other with a desk with a lamp in between them. The bathroom door was open, next to the bed at the right. I saw the shower, the sink, and the toilet. Towels were hanging from a bar above the toilet and soap bars were on the edge of the sink.

Rob threw his backpack on the bed closest to the bathroom. He dug out a pair of folded black boxers, a toothbrush, and toothpaste from his bag.

"I call first!" he chanted. He pulled off his clothes and set them on his bed. He was ripped and a number of small scars were dotted on his chest and stomach. He ran into the bathroom wearing only his underwear, closing the door behind him "Awesome! We have complimentary toothbrushes and toothpaste also!"

I put my bag down next to the left bed and removed my shoes and socks. I wiggled my toes. My feet felt like they were getting a breath of fresh air for once. The feeling was making me feel too cozy.

I laid down on the pillow and closed my eyes. I'd wait for Rob to come out, but until then, I closed my eyes.

Regardless of the light in the room, I found myself drifting to sleep quite quickly. Tomorrow, I planned to write in my journal when I woke up- I hadn't done that in a while. Since I would be in Violet City for a few days, I decided I could write my parents a letter. The way they had been acted had been pestering me lightly for a while. I told myself they were worried about me and I didn't want to believe otherwise. I had to tell them that I was ok and that I planned on doing all that I could to not be forced into being a Pokémon Trainer.

My parents were kind and loving people. The way they acted when I learned I would have to leave home was unlike them. I was going to make sure I ask them why they did that, even if they became angry at me questioning it.

I forgot about my shower, but I didn't care. I rolled over onto my stomach, got comfortable in the soft bed, and went into a deeper slumber.


	5. Chapter V: My Enlightenment

_Sorry for the long hiatus. School got in the way and things sort of snowballed down a mountain. After reading a few reviews, I decided to return to the story. I do have up to Chapter 10 done however, and I hope to return to posting a chapter a week. Anyway, here's chapter 5._

*~*~*

V_._

_"...The only reason I'm doing all of this is to show you all how...fucking...absurd it is to have damn children running the world, all by themselves. I honestly can't believe that population control shit, and neither should you. It's stupid! Its tearing families apart every day! Hell, the world's pretty much stagnating like a puddle of water...._

_The Act is just preventing the inevitable. Nature's just going to build up one way or another and crash down on all of us if this keeps up, and it's not like it honestly hasn't started. A month ago, our . . . damn . . . protectors . . . killed off protesters. Most of them were victims of the Act.... I was there without my mask...._

_I saw a boy about twelve years old. He had a bucket of Miltank blood and he threw it on the platform in front of the Victory Road while the Pokemon Champions were fending off everyone else. One of the Champions had a Scizor on the stage. The Scizor snatched the boy up on stage, on his stomach, and began to use its pincers to pull chunks of flesh out of his back._

_Another of the Champions had a Weezing. It filled the entire area with smog. The poison in it was too strong. A lot of people passed out. A few kids never woke up._

_The Champions didn't have the right to handle the situation like that. Most of them were in the same exact shoes as their victims...."  
_

-Video feed from Zero, leader of Team Zero. A month after the Viridian City Riot. (1:21:43 - 1:40:55)

*~*~*

My arms searched the bed. June wasn't with me.

I opened my heavy eyes to rays of sunlight leaking through the windows. ...There were windows? Didn't see them last night.... I rubbed the sleep out, yet my eyelids still felt drained. I popped my neck and searched the room. Rob's bed was nicely made and his backpack was placed on top of his sheets. He was nowhere.

I sat up and saw a clock over the entrance. It read 12:42. The nurse at the Pokemon Center wanted Rob and me to pick up our Pokemon around 1. What to do now? Did Rob go out to get them? Could he get mine?

Almost by circumstance, I found a note and a key on the small table between the two beds. It was leaning on the base of the lamp.

_Ed,_

_You didn't shower. What's up with that?  
I woke up earlier and picked up my  
Charizard. I'm training my  
Pokemon at the moment. I'll be back  
around 5 today. Be sure to get your  
Pokemon from the Center. Play around  
with your Shinx so it'll get used to you._

_Rob  
_

After taking a refreshing shower, I put on one of my extra t-shirts and jeans and left the inn. I went to the Pokemon Center across the street. Less people and Pokemon were walking around the entrance, though there was a line of people in front of the receptionist's desk. I waited until it was my turn to talk to the receptionist. She handed me the PokeBalls of June and the Shinx. I bade her farewell, left the building, and sat on a bench near the entrance.

I let June out on the sidewalk. Once the white glow around her body faded, she jumped on my lap and hugged me. I petted her.

"You okay?" I lifted her. The scar from the Skarmory left a white scar going descending across her chest. The bite marks were gone from her arms became tense while holding her straight. She had put on some weight.

"I suppose you're not hungry then," I observed. I put her next to me and held the Poke Ball with the Shinx in it. My fingers rotated it around my palm. Letting it out and having it run away was what my mind was afraid of at the moment. I expanded and dropped the ball at my feet. White light shot out of the capsule and onto the sidewalk.

The Shinx immediately snarled at me. Its yellow eyes went all over the place, following passing cars on the street behind it and passing people. June hopped off the bench and held her wings open, screeching at the Shinx and taking small steps toward it. The Shinx switched its attention to June, but backed itself up, baring its teeth.

My new found Pokemon Trainer instincts kicked in. I returned the aggressive Shinx and put the ball in my pocket. June defeated the Shinx back at Route 30. June was still an infant somewhat. This meant that the Shinx was probably an infant too.

A memory played in my head. Back home, when Mom used to take care of the neighborhood children, she used to give the younger ones candy and cookies to make them listen to her. Why couldn't the same thing work for Pokemon?

A young blonde man walked by, holding a dark-haired girl close to him. The two looked to be dating.

"Excuse me!" I called out. The two stopped and looked over their shoulder at me. "Is there a place where I can get something to eat around here? I'm new to Violet."

The two told me there was a taco place four blocks North. After thanking them, I made my way there with June.

The entire building was shaped like a taco. I went in with June on my shoulder and bought a taco for myself and smaller tacos for June and the Shinx. Once I received the change, I went outside and found an empty table in front of the restaurant. The other tables were quite crowded with people. Other Pokemon were eating outside or playing with their owners. This restaurant allowed Pokemon.

June hopped onto the table and I gave her one of the smaller tacos, not even wondering about if it was healthy giving a baby Pokemon processed grounded beef from Miltank, Tauros, or whatever the meat was made out of. She picked at hers, as if to question what the meat was also.

Now, for the main trial. I unwrapped the second small taco and kept it in my left hand and had the Shinx's Pokeball in the right. The plan was to keep it calm by feeding it a little bit, and possibly give it some of mine. Again, it was a baby. This would work.

Then I thought again. Then some more.

"Damn," I muttered. June cocked her head in worry. What if the Shinx ran away again? There were too many people here, and there was the little fact that it was an electric type. I had been too careless. I debated with myself that it was still an infant, and it would've definitely shocked June when she fought it.

Assume that the Shinx can't use its electricity, similar to how June can't use fire at the moment. Check.

So it would be okay to have it around people... Also, it wouldn't be so bad to ask for help.

By the luckiest of chance, I saw a stout old woman walk out of the store holding a bag from the taco restaurant. A sleeping Skitty kitten was on top of her head. Her gray hair was frail and messy, going down to her shoulders. She wore a brown overcoat even though the weather was perfectly warm with a fairly clear sky and a light breeze.

She was my best bet.

"Ma'am, could you help me with something? I noticed you had a Skitty with you," I asked as kindly as I could.

The lady was shorter than me. It was a strange feeling having a human look up to me for once.

"Yes son?" she addressed.

I held out the Shinx's Pokeball. "I was wondering if you could help me with my new Pokemon. It's a Shinx."

She took the ball with her own hand and stared longingly at it with worn grey eyes. "Ah yes, a Shinx. I had a Luxray back when I was younger. She bore a litter of Shinx that I gave away."

Her story made her the perfect candidate. Luxray sounded like an evolved form of Shinx.

"I'm a Pokemon Trainer," I began, "and I caught a Shinx in the wild and I want to raise it. I just don't know how to get it to like me. I let it out on a sidewalk and it just became aggressive. I was going to feed it to see if it would calm down." I held out the taco.

The old lady chuckled and gave me back the ball. "I wouldn't feed my cats fast food, but I guess a Pokemon Trainer will have to get used to feeding their Pokemon anything they can get their hands on.

"I'm heading to the fields outside Violet City to let my little Fifi here run around." She pointed up at the Skitty on her head. "It may be easier to handle your Shinx there. You want to walk with me?" she asked.

I nodded "Yes ma'am." Her plan was solid.

"Alright then, let's go. What's your name, sonny?"

"Edward. What about yours ma'am?" Using my full first name with her seemed to be the most polite thing.

"I'm Gracie, and as you already know, the little kitten in my hair is Fifi. She would've been delighted in meeting you, but she will soon once I wake her up."

Gracie led me out to the city limits. Pokemon Trainers were letting their Bird Pokemon fly around with the gentle wind. Gracie pointed out how a Staraptor was gliding around with its baby Starly behind it. The trainer on its back held her hands out to feel the air rushing past. I expected Rob to be out here since he said he was training his Pokemon, but he was nowhere to be found.

We went off the road and onto the grass. Gracie took Fifi out of her hair and placed the Skitty on the ground. It woke up, stretched, and gave a cute yawn before running off. Gracie opened her taco bag and pulled out a container of nachos. She removed the lid and began to eat.

"I love these things. I swear they'll be the death of me. You want some, Edward?"

I shook my head. "No thanks. I have food already." I plopped down on the ground and unwrapped my taco. The lack of steam coming from it made me question if it was really cooked. I took a bite. The taco was cold. I spat out what was in my mouth. June jumped down from my shoulder and ate it like it was nothing. The food was poor and my funds were getting lower and lower. Feeling the change in my pocket didn't help.

"Let your Shinx out," said Gracie. "You said it was aggressive. I doubt it'll run unless you chase it off."

For the second time today, I threw out the Shinx. The first thing it did was bare its small sharp teeth at June, who was happily and disgustingly eating the food I had spat out. June didn't bother giving attention to the Shinx. The little blue cub took a cautious step toward June, then closed its lips. It took another step toward June, its eyes on the food. Then another, close enough to get a bite. June immediately snapped at the Shinx, making it hop back a few times.

It was hungry.

"You know what to do," commented Gracie, who had sat down on the ground herself. "You honestly didn't need my help at all." She took another bite of her nachos.

I broke a large piece off my taco, knelt down, and held it out to the Shinx. It stared at my hand greedily and opened its mouth slightly. It was very hungry. Then, it looked up at me, giving me a light growl.

"Come on," I said softly.

The Shinx mewed pitifully. I crawled slightly toward it. "I know you're hungry, come on." I waved the piece of taco a bit and put on a welcoming smile. Behind it, my patience was waning.

I crawled a bit more. The Shinx didn't move back. When I thought the distance between us was decent, I put the food on the ground in front of me. The Shinx jumped on it and began to eat ravenously. Because the piece was too big, it couldn't run away with the food in its mouth.

Now was the chance. I reached out to touch the Shinx's head. It slowed down and its yellow eyes shot up at me with apprehension. My hand groomed it slightly, going down its large head toward its spine.

I took my other hand and began massaging its ears. The Shinx became less tense, and even began to rub its head against my palm.

I picked it up in my arms, seeing that it was a male. I grabbed a piece of the taco he was eating and fed it to the Shinx. He showed no more hesitation.

Gracie watched, clapping her hands. "Good job, Edward! Again, you didn't need my help in the slightest."

"But still," I said while tickling the Shinx beneath its chin, "you told me to come out here in the fields. I was going to let it loose where there were lots of people. That would've made things harder. Thanks Miss Gracie." The Shinx bit my finger slightly, drawing blood. I flinched a bit, but it was nothing major.

Gracie and I talked for a while and I played with the Shinx and June. When the sun had set, her Fifi came back with an incredibly small infant Spearow in its jaws. Gracie put the Skitty on her head and we left before one of the Bird Pokemon Trainers said something. For all I knew, the Spearow could've belonged to one of them. June hopped on my shoulder and the Shinx followed by my side.

We were within the city and Gracie was chatting animatedly over the cat Pokemon she had in her life as we walked. She went on to speak about how she had a son named Marvin who started a family in Cianwood. She gave him a Meowth kitten as a going away present. She mentioned that he was forced to become a Pokemon Trainer when he was younger, but he had collected eight gym badges and gave up the Trainer status.

"It's a terrible thing that kids have the Amber Act watching them through school," lamented Gracie. "My son was an awfully smart boy, but he was troubled and bullied kids because he wanted friends. He could've went far."

"So that's the name of the law," I commented. "Why is it called the Amber Act?"

"It was such a horrible thing," she began, her voice with torment. She started to reminisce. "About...fifty years ago (I was a teenager at the time), Vermilion City in Kanto was attacked by a pack of Gyarados. Those things are probably the most dangerous Pokemon in the wild. Hundreds of thousands of people died in the chaos. The act was named after one of the victims."

There was nothing to say. Gracie continued.

"The coast guard called in the Pokemon Champions. They fought them off. Then there was all this talk about a way to prevent something like it happening again. Then they came up with some crazy-minded plan to have more control over Pokemon. They figured that there should be more trainers catching them. So they had the poor kids and the kids with bad grades become trainers."

The information sunk in slowly. This wasn't covered in the one history class I took back in school, and the fact that this 'Amber Act' was about fifty years old was terrifyingly alarming.

"Thank goodness I wasn't born into the act," she said with sincere alleviation. "And here's my home."

Reality snapped its fingers in front of my face. I had walked with Gracie all the way to the suburban part of Violet City without realizing it. Her home was small compared to the two story cookie cutter houses. The setting sourly reminded me of New Bark with a violet color scheme. Her yard was empty compared to her neighbors' lawn ornaments of Doduo and Dodrio statues.

"Thank you for walking me, Edward. You are a really polite young man," said Gracie kindly as she walked up to her door.

I gave her a nod. "Thanks again for helping me with the Shinx, ma'am."

Gracie unlocked her door and turned on the light on the inside. The Skitty jumped from her head and ran in. "Well, I'll hopefully see you again Edward. I hope your journey has you getting all the badges you need. Good bye Edward."

Her words stung my heart. What was she implying? "Good bye Miss Gracie."

With that, she closed her door. The air had become a bit chilly, similar to how the morning first was after when Rob and I camped out.

I made my way back to the inn with June and the Shinx in tow.

Rob still wasn't in the room. I turned on the lamp between the beds. There was a note next to the note I found this morning, this time on a piece of notebook paper. June hopped onto my bed and I picked up the Shinx and put him next to her. Hopefully they would get along. Sleeping with the both of them may prove useful. I sat on the bed and read the new note.

_Ed_

_Man oh man, I had the craziest time with Felicity.  
I gotta tell you all about it when I see you again.  
Right now, I'm spending the night with her, so you  
can probably figure out what's going to go down :).  
She was literally asking for it._

_Anyway, I should be back tomorrow for sure. I hope  
you handled your Shinx. I plan on teaching you how  
to make June shoot fire and Shinx use its electricity,  
so get ready._

_Cya tomorrow._

_Rob._

"Wow, lucky him," I muttered. I put the card down and undressed for bed. After turning off the lamp, I laid down and pondered, with a now sleeping June in one arm and a persistent Shinx in the other.

The Amber Act was fifty years old. Exactly how many children have been thrown out of their homes since then? And what exactly did Gracie mean by she was glad that she wasn't born into the act? Did it have some sort of other effect on people? How the hell could something so unfair come about?

Because Pokemon are dangerous.

I held both of my Pokemon close.

I stopped myself there. Rob's words echoed in my head. He had told me to stop thinking. And in all honesty, I was getting a bit over myself.

The main thing I should've worried about was the upcoming Gym battle I had with Felicity. Rob said he'd get my ready.

Gracie's words about her son came into mind. He was forced into being a trainer, and then obtained eight badges and started a family in another city. He gained his freedom.

So, it was possible. Yet, Gracie was a bit disappointed at how he didn't have the opportunity to do much with his life afterward.

I stopped myself again.

I told myself that I should just go to sleep. The night was restless, but the Shinx went to sleep before I did.

I like to think this day was very special. Sure, I bonded with the Shinx and we became a badass pair later on, but this day had something more...I believe this was the first time I began to look past my goal of getting all eight Johto badges.


	6. Chapter VI: Experience Matters

VI. Experience Matters

_  
"One day, me and some friends jumped into Solaceon Ruins. Since we live nearby, we sometimes read what the Pokemon have to say. They're pretty harmless little things._

_To keep things short, I'll just say this: they literally had a book all over the walls. The Unown write about strange things all the time, but this stuff...it was crazy. The word 'retribution' kept repeating, but there were other languages I think. This was the first time I've ever seen Unown that weren't shaped like letters from the alphabet._

_It took a few days for us to read all that we could translate. What I got out of it was....something is sad or angry and that things will be fixed one way or another...._

_Some weird stuff...."_

_-Evan Hill - Hearthrone City Resident_

_~*~*~*_

The next day, Rob woke me up at the crack of dawn again for training. He had his vest on and everything. My Pokemon groggily rose out of bed with me. June copied me when I rubbed my eyes and stretched my arms. The Shinx laid flat on the bed, gave a small yawn, and stretched its back. Rob gave me kudos on getting the Shinx to like me; he promised that my Pokemon would get the badge from Violet City's gym for sure. He went on to mention that I'd probably need more experience in battling though, telling me that gym badges represent the skill level of a Pokemon Trainer, and that the gym leader tests to see if the Trainer is ready for the 'next level'.

We all went out to the fields to train. Rob took out his Charizard and flew with bird Pokemon trainers just to show them up. June, Shinx, and I watched the orange dragon soar around in small circles. The Charizard's tail flame was like a small jet as it carried its trainer across the light violet sky.

Rob gave a kick, and made the Charizard descend on a hill next to me and Pokemon, and hopped off. The Charizard anxiously watched a group of Fearow and Staraptors carrying their trainers across the sky, and gave Rob the saddest eyes beyond what I'd ever imagined a fire-breathing monster giving.

Rob rolled his own eyes, sighed, and moaned. "Ugh....Go on...." he muttered.

Without a second glance, the Charizard took off and joined with the flock. Rob watched it go.

"He's nothing but a big baby. I dunno why. He always wants to play or something," he gibed. He scratched his head in thought. As the bird trainers in the air made a loop-de-loop, Charizard followed perfectly.

"He's awfully good," I said enviously. Felicity told me that June would never fly, and I couldn't help but feel a bit of disappointment. I pictured a gigantic June gliding over the clouds with me on her head, holding onto her feathers. A dumb smile found its way on my face.

"It took him so damn long to learn to fly. I literally had to kick the bastard off a cliff that was over a river...." Rob groaned, putting his hands to his hips in a matter-of-fact way as watched his Pokemon in the air.

I suddenly registered what Rob said. "...The hell?! Are you serious?"

He chuckled. "Nah, it wasn't _that_ bad, but I had to make him fall though. Once the air caught his wings..._woosh_." He held his arms out and to make windy sounds with his mouth. "And that's how you train your Pokemon!"

I pictured a timid Charizard at the end of a cliff, being kicked off by an evil-looking Rob. The moment Rob tried to peer down the cliff, the Charizard soared up and roasted him into a pile of ash. "Has Charizard ever tried getting back at you? I can imagine him getting pissed off if you treated him like that...."

Rob gave me a curious look, as if I said something weird. I saw June and Shinx had somehow made up and played with each other, June chasing Shinx around. Shinx needed a name.

"You called my Charizard 'Charizard'..." said Rob dubiously.

He was right, I did do that. "Yeah. To be honest, I got tired of saying 'the' all the time in front of Shinx. Pokemon names are proper nouns, right? And you said you didn't give Charizard a nickname."

Rob frowned slightly. He walked up to me and violently rubbed my hair, snickering mockingly. "You said you failed some math classes or something. Were you a straight A student in everything else?"

I pushed his arm off with extra force. Being treated as a little kid irritated me. My eyes were daggers on him.

"Awesome, now I know how to push your buttons!" chortled Rob. It hit me now that Rob was extremely childish and annoying when he wanted to be. He reached out for my head again. I pushed his hand away.

"So what are you gonna do when a girl wants to play with your hair? Push her away too? You won't get girls like that," said Rob obnoxiously. He was having a better time than I was at the moment. I looked up at the sky again and saw Charizard following a bunch of bird Pokemon in a diamond formation. I ignored his stupid question.

"Since you got _your_ Charizard to fly, how do I get my Pokemon to use their abilities?" I asked flatly.

Rob settled down, but kept a goofy grin. He dug into his vest pockets and pulled out a red lighter and a small silver battery. He tossed them down at me. I fumbled with the battery, but the lighter bounced off my stomach onto the grass. I picked it up and held both in one hand. The lighter was for June, I figured. The battery was for Shinx.

"Rob, I don't know what you plan on making me do with these, but is whatever you have planned even ethical?" I spouted. June and Shinx had ran up to my feet, a Starly had followed them and was fluttering in place away from us. It looked like they made a friend. The white faced bird had black beady eyes that stared innocently at us, flapping its grey wings.

"You're using some funny words," said Rob dimly. I didn't get his deal. He came down from the hill. "But anyway, it's nothing too bad. It happens naturally in the wild anyway, so we're just gonna improvise to get the same result. You want me to help you or you want to do it yourself?"

Rob was the one using the strange words. For the first time, I questioned if Rob was sane. "What do I have to do?" I conceded. I didn't have any other choice.

That was the answer Rob wanted. "Hell yeah! Keep that up and you'll have eight badges in no time. Let's work with the Shinx first. Pick it up and hold it."

I put the lighter and battery in my pocket. Shinx had been jumping on my leg, anxious to be picked up. When he was finally in my arms, he began to lick my face once he was close enough. The Starly landed, watching all of us. June hopped toward it and the two chased each other playfully.

"Now take the battery out and just rub an end of it on the yellow spots on the Shinx's feet," instructed Rob. I did so.

A jolt of electricity immediately shot out of the tiny leg. The battery flew out of my hand, leaving a painfully numb feeling in the fingers on my left hand. I dropped Shinx.

"OH GOD-WHA...DAMN! DAMN!" I shook my hand furiously. "ROB! YOU..._DAMMIT MY HAND!_" I sucked my fingers to relieve the pain. Rob fell onto his back and howled with laughter. I delivered a kick his shin.

"OW...holy shit...that was....too funny," Rob struggled with talking and laughing at the same time.

I pulled my fingers out to speak. _"Was that a joke? Are you really that damn childish? I could've DIED!"_ I spat.

Rob was fighting to breathe between his outbursts. "Nah, you wouldn't have...it's still young...oh God you should've seen the look on your face and the look...on...it...now!" He cracked up again.

I ignored him and searched around for Shinx. The little cat must've ran off when I dropped him. I looked over to where June and the Starly were playing. The sounds of cracking and snapping helped me find him too easily.

Shinx was mischievously unleashing volts of electricity on the poor Starly, chasing it down. The Starly was running, skipping, fluttering, and tumbling frantically on the grass as it tried to catch air to fly away.

"Shinx! Stop!" I commanded. I trotted down the field to stop him. "Shinx! Leave it alone!"

Shinx ignored me. I'll admit, a part of me was impressed at how he was using electricity. The other part didn't want to pick a fight against a trainer that would whoop me.

A PokeBall's return beam shot over my shoulder from behind. The light hit the Starly and absorbed it.

_Oh wow._

"Just what the fuck do you think you're doin'?" said a nasal male voice from behind me. I timidly turned around and saw a mess of a teenager glaring down at me from a small hill. His moptop brown hair and ugly acne-ridden face made me look at his bony body instead. He wore a black T-shirt with a white crossbones sign that was tucked in black jeans with tiny, shiny spikes near his feet. "Kid, are you stupid? Didn't your _ma_ teach you not to mess with other's stuff?"

Trainers close by stopped their training with their Pokemon and watched. I shrunk from all the looking. Shinx and June ran up to me, cheerfully ignoring everyone else.

"This is all your fault!" I hissed to Shinx. He just jumped on my leg so he could be picked up, mewing. He couldn't have cared less if he just pissed someone.

"You should've heard him. He was like 'Shinx! Attack that dumb bird!' I don't think he cared if it was wild or not. The kid's a real asshole."

That was Rob's voice. I looked up. He had his arm slacked over the ugly trainer's narrow shoulders, as if he had been the trainer's buddy this whole time. He gave me a quick wink.

"I think you should kick his ass. He's new. Those two are his only Pokemon. Teach him something," said Robert slyly, goading the trainer on. People began to draw in closer. I feebly held two anxious Pokemon in my arms. I think June understood what was going on, but just wanted me to hold her. Shinx just wanted to fight or play, or do both at the same time.

The trainer blinked dumbly in silence, then shook his head as if he had second doubts. "Hell yeah! Yo kid! Get ready!" he shouted, voice slightly cracking from his age.

Rob backed off and gave a small gesture with his arms, as if to officially announce the fight. He joined the crowd of trainers that had formed.

This was my first battle against another Trainer. Alice's demolishing of that kid back in Cherrygrove replayed in my head. Was the same going to happen to me? My opponent was older than me, and was definitely bolder. If I were to lose, then what would happen? Would he expect me to give him something? My money? I was down to my last bills. Broke.

Stress and anguish returned. My grip on June and Shinx grew slack. My gaze grew blank and I faced the ground.

"Oh God, will you stop that?!" shouted Rob. I snapped my face up. There he was, way back behind some trainers' shoulders, shouting through his cupped hands. "Get the hell up and fight! You're a Pokemon Trainer! Use your goddamn Pokemon! You don't got time to stop and think!"

Despite his words, Rob was grinning.  
_  
Stop...think.... Stop thinking._

My mind muted my doubts and insecurities for this one moment. I held my Pokemon closer. Here we go.

"Hey you two..." I whispered calmly to them. June and Shinx grew less fidgety and quiet, as if to listen. "You two are the most awesome Pokemon in the world. No matter what happens, I will always be there for you guys."

June gave me a hug and Shinx licked my cheek. I snickered a bit, even though a hint of nervousness was in my voice. "Now, you guys are about to fight this guy on that hill. I don't know what kind of Pokemon he'll use, but I know you two can handle anything. And even if you don't win, I know you can win next time."

I put them down and stood up straight. All my fears were circulating in the back of my head, but I put the mental volume down.

"Shinx, you stand by my side. June, take down whatever he sends out," I ordered. Shinx ran to my leg. June hopped forward and held her wings out. Her feet were antsy as she bobbed up and down.

The trainer tossed a Pokeball down. It cracked open and bounced back into the trainer's hand. A Spearow shot out of the white light, ramming into June. She stumbled and rolled down the hill, chirping nervously.

"June!" I shouted. I ran down after her.

"Is that a starter Pokemon? Wow kid, you're horrible," sneered the Spearow's trainer. The Spearow's red wings flapped furiously as it pursued the still rolling June. The Spearow caught up to her and began to peck at her head.

June whipped herself up and, with both wings, snatched the Spearow from the air. She slammed the bird down to the ground and bit its neck. The crowed shouted in surprise.

"What the hell? Damn that thing's ferocious!"

"It'll probably be one dangerous Blaziken."

"Too bad they can't fly...damn that's one nice Torchic."

June mauled the bird and the Spearow used its large beak to peck and bite June back. Blood dripped slightly around the two Pokemon, but red, brown, and orange feathers scattered into the air in flurries. The sight was almost gruesome, but this _was_ how Pokemon fought.

Then a wisp of smoke rose from the two. The Spearow gave a blood-curdling fearful screech as June firmly held it in place on the ground. I had no idea what was going on.

"Call it back! It's done!" bellowed Rob to my opponent. "Call it back or it's dead! The Torchic's gonna roast it!"

The trainer was locked up; I could see the disbelief written all over his face. He didn't even attempt to raise the Pokeball into the air.

I watched. No fire came from June's beak. She struggled a bit to hold the Spearow in place, but she remained rigid.

Then I realized that June was emitting heat from her wings. The smoke became heavier and intense, then the Spearow exploded in flames. The crowd nearest to the Pokemon jumped backward to avoid the licks of fire. There were fearful screams mixed in with cheers. My opponent went insane.

"OH GOD! WHAT'RE YOU DOING?! GET THAT MONSTER OFF MY POKEMON!" screamed the trainer from the top of his lungs. _"I'LL FUCKING KILL THAT THING!"_

He threw out another Pokeball. A Pidgeotto came out of it and swooped toward June. I immediately reached for June's Pokeball and called her back. The guy was cheating from anxiety.

"GO SHINX! GET'EM!" I commanded.

And Shinx did so. The little kitten galloped over to the fat brown bird, who became disoriented from how fast I called its prey back. Shinx unleashed a flurry of sparks onto the Pidgeotto. The light from some of the electricity made me blink.

The Pidgeotto used its powerful wings to back up away from the Shinx's electrical current. It then unleashed a small gust of wind toward Shinx, knocking him back and sending him tumbling down the hill.

Just as I was about to run over to him, Shinx recovered. He mewed. This was a game to him.

Shinx let loose. It sprinted toward the Pidgeotto, which was fluttering in the air. Shinx leaped over the still burning Spearow and closed the distance between himself and the Pidgeotto.

The Pidgeotto sent out another gust of wind to Shinx. Shinx jumped right over it and shot out a bolt of electricity straight out of its body. A ray of white lighting literally connected the two Pokemon, snapping, crackling, and popping. The Shinx was in the air for a good second, riding the strong wind slightly. The Pidgeotto was prone in air, twitching violently. Smoke began to rise up from its body.

The Pidgeotto plopped to the ground without a sound. A few of its disheveled feathers had small wisps of fire on the tips. The gust of wind died off, dropping Shinx onto his feet. He ran over to me.

My opponent shot daggers at me from his eyes as he raised both arms and called back both his burnt Pokemon. Part of the crowd cheered, but others mumbled darkly. Most of the people out in the fields were bird Pokemon trainers, so I figured that some didn't take too kindly to their brethren being demolished.

But I realized I was getting ahead of myself. Did he have other Pokemon?

The trainer awkwardly ran down from the hill he had been standing on the entire time. He was in front of me. I had to look up at his craning figure. He reached into his pocket and grabbed some crumpled dollar bills, then shoved them violently into my chest, almost knocking me down. He pushed himself through the crowd and dashed over to the city, nearly stumbling over his own feet as he went up and down the small hills. Some of the crowd began to applaud me as most of the other trainers started to leave. Rob came over and slapped me heartily on the back, almost knocking me down.

"Dude, that was awesome," he commented. "Your Torchic is really something, learning how to use fire like that...and that Shinx is dangerous like that one guy said."

I chuckled in embarrassment. I knelt down and petted Shinx, who responded by licking my hands and face. Then I let out June to give her a hug. Her grip on me was tighter than it had ever been. She chirped jubilantly. Smears of blood was painted on the lower part her cheeks, as well as little gashes.

We all stayed there for a while. Some of the people who watched wanted to train with me when my Pokemon were all healed up. Rob reminded me that I'd be fighting Felicity the day after tomorrow and that I'd need all the training I could get. We stopped by the Pokemon Center in the city to get my Pokemon patched up (they only had minor scratches. June had a few bite marks). We returned to the fields to train some more. Also, Rob had left his Charizard, which had picked a few fights with Pidgeots and Staraptors. He got into a few fights, and I trained June and Shinx with other trainers' Pidgey, Spearow, Taillow, and Starly. I also got into some fights.

I suffered my first loss a bird Trainer named Alex. When he heard how I wanted to get my first badge from Violet City's gym, he approached me. He told me he just got his first badge from Felicity too. He offered to try to fight me like Felicity fought him. Rob figured 'Why not?' and, again, pushed me into a fight.

He threw out a Pidgey. I sent out Shinx, who I figured could take care of it easily. The Shinx sent out volts of electricity toward the Pidgey, but the bird was very nimble. It spent most of its time up in the air, creating small gusts that pushed and threw Shinx around. When Shinx fell onto his back, the Pidgey dive-bombed him in the stomach. It was cringing to look at; Shinx had the air knocked out of him. I called him back and sent out June.

The Pidgey got high in the air again, and June chirrped in agitation. She couldn't reach it. The Pidgey made more gusts that knocked June every which way. After a full minute of this beating, June became dizzy and started teetering around. The bird rammed its body into her, causing her to roll down the hill she was on. The Pidgey turned around to return and picked up June by her wings in its claws, lifting her into the air. I thought that June would set the bird on fire like she did with the Spearow, but I was wrong. Before June could even orient herself, the Pidgey increased its speed and let go of her. June was thrown into a small valley, unconscious.

Even though I had lost, I felt like my Pokemon had the potential of winning. I called them back into their Pokeballs and returned to the Pokemon Center to get them healed. Neither of them suffered critical damage, so they were taken care of within an hour. While they were being healed, I returned to the fields. Rob had been challenged as well, but he mostly fought full grown Pokemon.

Rob fought many trainers. He was doing very well with his one Pokemon, until a bird trainer named Harold visiting from Sinnoh challenged him. Harold intended on winning the Johto Pokemon League also and had a full party of six with him: A Staraptor, a Pidgeot, a Swellow, a Noctowl, a pokemon he called a Togekiss that was completely white with odd colored shapes on its stomach, and a giant dragonfly he called a Yanmega. All of them had been out, training with other trainers.

The battle was frighteningly awesome to look at. Charizard had successfully defeated the Staraptor, the Noctowl, and the Yanmega. A crowd formed and even cars on the road entering Violet City pulled over to see the two go at it. Both trainers were in the air (Rob was lent tame Fearow by watching trainer). Harold rode on his own Pidgeot with the elegance that only a bird trainer could have and the two flew around the battling Pokemon. I never knew Charizard was so fast; when it was fighting Swellow, Harold had it let Charizard chase it in hopes of faking Rob's Pokemon out in midair at a high velocity. The blue bird had Charizard on its tail-feathers, then it led it to the trees surrounding the fields. The Swellow reared up at a 90 degree angle right in front of a large tree. Charizard nailed the turn and continuing pursuing the Swellow. If he had hit the tree, it would've been a gruesome sight.

Charizard spat out fire that fell onto his body, surrounding him like a cone or a drill. The Swellow had surrounded itself with a slightly clear field that had a concentrated white tip at the Swellow's head. Both of them looked like an orange and white star from my perspective; I swear the two broke the stratosphere or something. They got higher into the darkening sky. Then even higher.

The white star suddenly dropped. The orange star followed. Everyone began to clear the area for some reason. I followed.

Both Pokemon were plummeting toward the ground, but were in perfect control of the situation. The Swellow had its wings slack, lazily turned upward as it fell. Charizard was still surrounding by its spinning flame, his wings close to his body to prevent catching air.

A few seconds from hitting the ground, the Swellow took its wings, slung them back behind itself, and powerfully thrust them forward. It unleashed a wind attack that was far superior to the gusts of wind I had saw earlier. A number of literal blades of condensed wind shot from the Swellow's wings.

The blades hit Charizard's spinning flame. With every blow, there was a fairly large explosion. I turned my eyes away from getting blinded by the light. I was a good distance away from the fighting Pokemon, but I could feel the heat graze my skin. A few people became sweaty and began to remove their shirts. With one hand at my brow to block the light, I continued watching.

The Swellow landed and looked up at all the chaos overhead.

A scarred Charizard swooped down from the clouds of fire and blasted it with a flame, setting the bird on fire. Charizard landed haphazardly and nearly stumbled over, his head waving awkwardly from tiredness. The Swellow, carrying the flames on its feathers, charged Charizard for a final attack. Before it impacted, Rob returned Charizard to his Pokeball. Harold followed suit; the Swellow was pratically unconscious in the air as it sped like a bullet toward nothingness, expecting to hit its opponent. Harold called it back. Then, both of the trainers landed and gave each other a firm handshake. The two acknowledged their strength as trainers, but Rob was given more praise for lasting so long against so many trainers.

We both went to the Pokemon Center - me to pick up my Pokemon. Rob, having his Charizard rest.

On the way, Rob explained that he had to get me to fight a trainer somehow, and the kid whose Spearow June fried seemed like the perfect candidate; the kid had been irresponsible and let his Starly wander off by itself. I didn't bother pointing out his hypocrisy with his Charizard, which a Pokemon a thousand more times dangerous than a little bird. I saw the same trainer at the Pokemon Center during one of my visits. He avoided eye contact with me. I overheard from one of the nurses that his Spearow and Pidgeotto would be okay in a week. I'm not going to lie - I felt relieved for him. I almost felt compelled to give him back the thirty dollars he gave me.

Almost.

I won some and I lost some that day. Same for the next day. I did take on Alex again though.

June slammed his Pidgey and threw it down the same hill. Shinx took out his second Pokemon, a Starly, by biting it and using a shock.

Rob said I was ready.


	7. Chapter VII: The Zeyphr Badge

Chapter VII: The Zephyr Badge

_"Fossil Valley is a testament on how far humanity has come to completely controlling Pokemon. The future is looking bright. I personally think anyone who's preaching that Pokemon should be left alone are loonies. It's not like they'd leave us alone, you know?"_

_-Comment called in by Fred Peterson on Goldenrod Radio News_

_~*~*~*  
_

The moment I woke up I sat up in my bed. I rubbed my eyes, and waited for my sight to focus in the darkness of the hotel room. Along with the soft pitter-patter of a heavy rain hitting the window, Robert's light snores could be heard. The clock above the entrance read ten minutes to five. As I pulled my legs over the edge of my bed, I couldn't resist feeling a bit proud of being up before Rob for once. June and Shinx spent the night in their Poké Balls. The two were side by side on the dresser between the two beds. June's name was barely visible on the red part of the ball because of the darkness; yesterday, I confused the Poké Balls for both of my Pokémon while in a battle I lost. During my visit to the Pokémon Center, I asked a nurse for a marker and labeled June's. I kept Shinx's blank because I hadn't thought of a good name for him yet. This day wasn't the day I could screw up. I was determined to defeat Felicity.

I got out of bed and crept toward my backpack, making sure I didn't wake Rob. I strapped it onto my bare back and tiptoed into the bathroom, closing the door with gentleness I developed from sneaking around my own home past bedtime.

I flipped on the light, dropped my backpack on the floor in front of the door, and pulled out a black plain t-shirt. A faintly aromatic scent of lilac came from it. The smell made me remember that my mom always used lilac deodorizer when drying the laundry. I held the shirt close to my nose, taking in the fading aroma. My eyes grew heavy and slightly watery as I remembered how depressed my mom was when I had to leave. Before we got the news, I saw her as the perfect mother: forgiving, warmhearted, and always brightened up my days with her cheerful outlook on everything. After the news, she distanced herself away from me, sometimes even ignoring me outright by keeping a disturbing silence. There were times when I saw her eyes red from tears; I have never, in my life, seen my mother cry.

I put the clothes on the toilet lid and took a soothing shower that washed away a few days of grime and a few weeks of heavy thoughts. I stepped out, dried myself off, and examined myself in the mirror; it had been a good while since I paid any attention to my reflection.

I was pale, thin, and my red soggy hair was flat on my forehead. My body had always been skinny, but I was awfully wiry. I frowned in disappointment; I thought I would be fit from all of the walking I've been doing. If anything, I looked worse than I did before leaving home. Rob had lectured me on saving money yesterday while I bought us both tacos from the restaurant I met the old lady Gracie at. He made a sermon preaching "money can ruin a guy" and "fast food could probably be hardened Grimer carcasses." Then he asked for a second taco. I took June and Shinx and left him.

Rob was a pretty strong guy. He had the kind of body a kid pictured having when he's older. He was rugged. Where I had a flat and narrow chest, his was wide with splotches of hair. I flexed in the mirror. Little hills appeared on my arms; Rob didn't have to flex for his mountains to show. They were always standing tall. Rob also never slouched unless he was fooling around; he always stood tall. This became glaringly obvious when a flock of school girls coming from summer school started to swoon up at him.

I put away my pathetic arms and attempted to stand tall too. Chest forward. Arms back.

I was a white stick with red grass at the top. But I had to admit, I did look a little bit better. A rush of pride climbed up my veins; I was going to get my first badge today.

I brushed my teeth, put on my clothes, and went back into the room. The smell of sweat, the sound of huffing, and the lamp just being on was enough to tell me Rob was awake. He was doing pushups on the floor between the beds. His hoarse and worn voice uttered "Sixty-eight. Sixty-nine. Seventy".

I sat down on the end of my bed and watched him admirably. When he finally reached one-hundred, he threw his legs forward and sat on the floor. Reflective beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. He looked up at me with his large brown eyes with a childish, expectant grin drawn on his face.

"You ready?" he simply asked.

I took a deep breath; wanting to do something and being able to do something were two different things, but June and Shinx really impressed me with our training. "Yeah. I think I am," I claimed boldly.

"Good!" exclaimed Rob. He leapt onto his feet. "Let me hit the shower, then I'll help you get some last minute training in. You want to train some more, right?"

I shook my head. "Nah," I declined, "sure, it would help, but I feel like June and Shinx should save their strength."

His enthusiasm sunk and a solemn look replaced it. He nodded. "Sounds," his voice began to quietly trail off, "like a plan to me."

I curled an eyebrow at Rob. "You think I should train more?" I asked. He had been awfully weird at times in the past few days. I'd say something about my Pokémon, and he'd become all silently contemplative and serious. He was holding something back.

"Why do you act like that?" I demanded.

Rob looked as if he wasn't surprised at what I said. He casually rubbed his palms over his unkempt black hair. He smelled his hands.

"I really gotta wash my hair," he uttered under his breath. He gave me a worn, pitiful glance. When he spoke, he voice had a low tone. He seemed really down.

"It took me a long while to get eight badges. The journey's hard. You're gonna see and do a lot of things that's going to make you wonder if you're cut out to be a trainer or not."

It was as if a stranger was standing in front of me; Rob never talked so depressingly.

He noticed my surprise at what he said. He reached out and ruffled my hair. I shoved him away, making him give a small, lethargic laugh. "I'm going to stay and watch you fight Felicity, but after that, I'm going to Ecruteak."

I recalled my Johto geography class. Ecruteak was a bit west of Violet. Ecruteak City marked the point where Mainland Johto met with Northern Johto. Then I remembered what Rob said when I first met him. He said he'd follow me until Ecruteak.

"But I have an idea. Listening?"

I got out of my contemplative mode and sat up straight, looking up at him with full attention.

"After you get the badge here, I'm going to Ecruteak. Head south to Azalea. You do that, and I'll meet up with you there eventually or probably even before you reach Azalea. Hopefully."

I hadn't put much thought on where to go after Violet, but Ecruteak did seem like the most logical choice. The city was closer and had a Pokémon Gym that specialized in ghost Pokémon. To get to Azalea, I'd have to cross some ruins, several small towns, and an overpass. The way there would definitely take more than a week. I could probably get to Ecruteak within a day or two.

"Why not Ecruteak?" I inquired.

Rob sighed. "Just don't go to Ecruteak after you leave Violet. When I was with Felicity the other day, we heard some news about something big going down there really soon."

"Like what?" I pushed with a hint of annoyance. His ambiguous words were starting to irritate me.

Rob didn't immediately respond. His eyes darted back and forth across the floor in thought. "The Pokémon League may send champions to Ecruteak soon. There's going to be a huge fight between them and Team Zero I think."

"Team Zero? What?" I grilled. Everything Rob was saying at this point made more questions than answered anything. The name did sound familiar, however.

Rob scratched his forehead in slight agitation. "You need to be a bit more into the news, Ed. Anyway, my brother's going to be there. I have to meet him for personal reasons. I'd take you to Ecruteak personally, but..." he trailed off.

"What do you-!" I began.

"Never mind," Robert interrupted. "Do what you want. But for now, I gotta take a shower. Since you don't want to do some last minute training, we can get some breakfast. I'll be quick."

With that, Rob pulled out some clothes from his backpack and locked himself in the bathroom. I sat there staring at the door, absorbing everything that he said. The same guy who told me to not think so much had started talking about doubting oneself, then went on about something going on in Ecruteak and how I shouldn't go, then telling me I can do whatever I want.

It made no sense.

When Rob got out of the shower and dressed, we checked out of the hotel and sloshed our way through the now intense rain to a small restaurant that was serving breakfast. We sat inside, close to a window, and ate in silence. I gazed out the window since it was awkward even looking at Rob. I had never taken the time to sit and just look at the city and notice how old-fashioned it looked. The streetlamps began to flicker off one at a time since the sun was above, just behind the storm clouds. None of the buildings reached over about ten floors, and each one looked like they had been torn from a page of a Johto history book on industrialization. Where Goldenrod City had buildings that looked like they were made out of window, Violet City's were made from purple-tinted bricks. Also, I noticed that buildings served as both stores and apartments. Right across the street was a building that had a large GENERAL STORE sign over its doorway. Above the sign were electric fans and air conditioners in windows. People in pajamas were appearing in and out of open windows, and people in suits with suitcases were coming out of the building, heading to wherever they worked.

Cars drove by, people going to work walked by with their umbrellas, and few trainers passed by. Both kinds of trainers. I started to notice the difference between the types of trainers as I sat at the window, eating my honey toast. There were trainers who had a lowly disposition. These kids often had a lost look about them, incredibly skinny from hunger, and held a Poké Ball in their hand to handle any sort of trouble that came. These kids were forced to be trainers. The other types were trainers who carried large backpacks with their belongings, and often had determined looks about them. Rob was this kind of trainer. I wondered which one I looked like, but I didn't bother asking him.

Everyone else outside didn't look like either trainer. These were most likely people whose lives had nothing to do with Pokémon. Businessmen, shop owners, the waiters and waitresses here. None of them had to go out into the world to catch and train Pokémon. That life was impossible for me at the moment. I had to get eight badges before I had any real choice in my life.

When we finished eating, we went directly to the Pokémon gym. We entered the glass automatic doors and Rob pulled me over to the arena in the center. We peered down the railing and saw Felicity in the center, watching two Pidgeot lovingly circle each other in the air above her.

"Hey, we're here!" Rob shouted down to her. She looked up at him and her face became redder than a Luvdisc.

"Oh! Robert!" she exclaimed. Rob leaped over the railing and aced landing on the dirt arena. I rolled my eyes.

She ran into his arms. I was expecting them to start making out any minute, but to my relief, they didn't. They spoke quietly to each other, and then Rob pointed up at me. Felicity nodded and spoke to me for once.

"Ed, are you ready?" she inquired with an authoritative tone. It seemed so out of place for her that I began to laugh underneath my breath. Luckily she couldn't see me.

"Yeah," I shouted back. I was ready as I could ever be.

"Well go down one of the stairwells and take your place on one of the blocks. I have the Pokémon I want to use already, so the battle will begin once you get down here."

Up top on my level, behind the staircase that was in between the descending bleachers, there was an opening in the ground. I went up to it and discovered the staircase down the arena. I climbed down. Surprisingly, I wasn't too stressed out about the ordeal. I figured that if I did lose, I could try again some other time after training my Pokémon more.

As I came down, I saw Rob coming up. When he passed me, he patted my shoulder.

"Good luck," he wished quietly. He grabbed my backpack and I let him pull it off, taking it with him. Today's earlier conversation was still in our heads. I continued down the stairs and walked up to Felicity, who was still in the center. She held a hand out. I shook it. Her grip was firmer than I had expected, regardless of her soft hands.

"Today you'll be fighting for the official Violet City Gym's Zephyr Badge," she said with official air, "I wish you the best of luck. Now go take your place on the block over there." She pointed at the metallic square at the end of the arena. I jogged toward it and stood in its center. I turned around and saw that she was in her block already.

A railing slowly rose from the edges of the metal block, reaching up to the middle of my chest. Across the way, I saw Felicity's railing reach just above her stomach. Then the metal block vibrated underneath my feet and slowly rose. I grabbed the railing to keep myself standing. Felicity simply stood straight; I figured she was used to this. She held two Poké Balls out and returned the two Pidgeot flying around the stage and put them in her overall's pocket. I heard the explosion of a Poké Ball opening to the side of me. I looked toward where I heard the sound.

Rob had taken his place on the bleachers, sitting with his back slouching over another bleacher above the one he was sitting on. His Charizard was beside him, yawning with slivers of white light disappearing around him. Rob winked at me.

"One day, you'll probably be close to being as good as him," uttered Felicity dreamily; I had barely caught her words from the distance that separated us. I turned my attention back to her to see she was leaning in his direction over her railing with a stupid girly grin stretched across her face. I knew good and well she was praising him more than showing hope for me. Even though she was quite the distance away from me, I could hear her perfectly without her yelling.

Since this was the beginning of an important battle, I figured I should show I wouldn't let my opponent talk down to me. "Well that may happen sooner if you'd hurry up." I taunted.

Felicity snapped into order, right eye twitching; I must've struck a sour note with her. Rob whistled coolly. She reached into her overall's pocket and pulled out another Poké Ball.

"Well since this is your first gym battle," she spat, "I'll explain the battle rules for your Johto Pokémon League's Violet City's Gym Challenge. Listen up.

"I will only use two Pokémon. As the challenger, you must defeat them with your own. You may use up to six Pokémon. Normal Pokémon League battle rules apply. There are no other restrictions. You have any questions?"

It was straightforward enough for me. I shook my head and pulled out Shinx's PokéBall and activated it. I got into a throwing stance by cocking my right arm back, and waited for her move.

"Alrighty then. Good luck," Felicity commended. She underhand tossed her PokéBall straight up into the air. I followed it with anticipation.

It cracked open, blasting out a Pidgey who took to the air. The emptied ball fell back down into Felicity's expectant hand. I had to hand it to her; she was smooth. The Pidgey fluttered in the air, high above the ground, staring at me with its piercing hazel eyes, as if I was the one it was fighting head on.

"This is it, Shinx," I whispered to Shinx's PokéBall. "Get it done."

I tossed the ball down to the center of the arena. It exploded into the vibrant white light, releasing Shinx. The ball bounced back into my direction. I snatched it out of the air and kept it close. Shinx was on light paws, trotting around on the dirt and gazing up at its opponent, ready to ride whatever wind came his way.

"Knock the cat out," commanded Felicity. "Be fast! Just like your mom and dad!"

"Ok Shinx, do like we did back in the fields!" I rooted.

Shinx's blue fur began to flicker with electricity. He let out an intimidating snarl which lost its effectiveness because of his youth. When he becomes fully grown, I thought, he'd probably be scary.

The Pidgey swooped down to get closer to the ground. Shinx dashed toward the Pidgey, electricity sparkling from his body. His mouth was wide open, ready to bite.

One of the bird's clawed feet grabbed a handful of dirt within its talons. It flicked the particles into the air, right in front of charging Shinx. He ran straight through the cloud and stopped dead in his tracks. Shinx blinked dumbly and attempted to lick his own eyes with his long feline tongue.

Right when I thought what Shinx was doing was extremely fatal, the worst happened. Shinx collapsed. His tongue twitching from the static, Shinx was on his side with his mouth gaping wide open and drool leaking to the dirt. Shinx had managed to shock his tongue and possibly the inside of his head.

"No," I stammered. I called Shinx back into his PokéBall. I turned around and made to climb down from the podium to get him to the Pokémon Center. The railing was behind me as well. I was surrounded by metal bars. There was no way down.

"You will stay and fight until you forfeit!" Boomed Felicity. Her voice resounded through the gym as she pointed a menacing, demanding finger in my direction. Gym trainers began to take seats at the bleachers to watch. I looked to the side to find Rob for reassurance. He and his Charizard were glaring at me expectantly.

"Do you give up?" demanded Felicity. Her Pidgey flew up to her and perched itself on the railing, waiting for me.

Do I give up? What the hell was this? The battle wasn't even five minutes in and Shinx had already probably blown his own mind to pieces. This was all going too fast. And it was all done by a damn sand attack. I had lost before, but this fight suddenly felt more important than I took it at first.

"Wow, lookit'em. He's gone and lost it," observed someone from the small and scattered audience.

"Damn kid, you're going to say something or what?!"

"Ugh, this is why I don't like watching noobs fight. They don't know how to handle themselves or their Pokémon," groaned another person.

"Geez kid, it's only two Pokémon. That's a damn Pidgey for cryin' out loud."

The numerous voices swarmed around inside my head. I looked to Rob again in desperation. He and his Charizard may as well have been statues; they still watched me in anticipation. I

"Alright Ed," said Felicity in a consoling, motherly voice. I immediately looked toward her for the attention I wanted. "You can give up. We can battle in a week from now. I admired how much courage you had in the beginning. Did you teach him that, Rob?"

I went back to Rob. He didn't take his eyes off of me as he responded.

"No, I didn't," he announced to her. "It's all him."

I expected helpful words, but he said nothing. Doubts returned. I held my head in my hands, on the verge of tears again. What was I doing here? What did I honestly believe I could do? Felicity just destroyed me in a manner of minutes. I was too cocky. What can I do? June wouldn't do any better either. Shinx was probably dying in his PokéBall for all I knew. Why did I even care about them? They're just tools for me to get eight badges so I don't have to train them anymore.

They're just tools.

I sunk to my knees. I hated myself.

"Just raise your hands up in the air, open palms, Ed. It's obvious that you're not ready to be a trainer."

Yeah, it was obvious. I had been getting my hopes up for these past few days, somewhat thinking I could be one just to get eight badges.

Wait.

In a sense, the gears in my head cranked harder; or rather, stopped moving completely and a completely different machine started to churn. This was the same 'machine' that annoyed Rob earlier today.

"Why?" I muttered. My face was still in my hands.

Felicity didn't answer. "Ed, if you don't do anything in the next five seconds, I'm going to declare the battle over and lower the blocks."

"I asked 'Why?'" I repeated. I lifted my face and stared her down the best I could. My eyes were watery but I mustered up determination.

Felicity still didn't answer. "What do you mean?"

"He's asking why you think it's obvious that he's not ready to be a trainer," clarified Rob. He and his Charizard were now staring at her expectantly.

"Urm," she stuttered, "well, he's losing his composure over a simple mistake. He has no common sense." Everyone in the arena watching could tell she was afraid Rob had taken my side. I personally felt he was annoying neutral.

"What simple mistake?" I demanded. My hands gripped the railing and I leaned forward. This was now a battle of the words.

"'What simple mistake?'? You called your Shinx back after it shocked itself and you were about to hightail it and run. You know Shinx is an electric Pokémon, right? It uses electric abilities. It lives with electricity. You'd figure an electric Pokémon could handle its own electricity."

Her words were logical. I recalled how Rob made me have Shinx start using its abilities. I had to hold a battery in front of it. He had told me that I had to recreate what happened naturally.

What happened to a Shinx in nature?

"Ok, we're done here," clamored Felicity impatiently. "Johnny, lower the blocks."

I immediately withdrew June's PokéBall and chucked it down into the arena. The little orange bird surveyed its surroundings. It looked up at me and waved, then saw Rob and Charizard and waved at them. The two waved back innocently. The Pidgey flapped off its perch and took to the air, ready to fight again.

Felicity watched her Pokémon fly. "You're ready again Ed? Next time you spaz out like that, then it's game over? Got it?"

I stood silent. My eyes were on June, who targeted her enemy up above her. She had her wings out, standing still, and ready for whatever.

The bird descended and attempted to pull the same trick again. The Pidgey got close to June and kicked sand at her. June about-faced and ran, chirping vociferously. The Pidgey pursued her. The image reminded me of when Rob's Charizard fought that Swellow.

The Pidgey closed the gap between the two and swooped above June's head, stretching its claws open, preparing to grab June. June immediately ducked and threw her body backward. She successfully avoided the Pidgey. The Pidgey was disoriented from June's sudden move.

June took the opportunity and charged the bird's open back. Curling the ends of her wings into small balled up fists, she pulled one back and slammed it into the Pidgey's spine. The bird fluttered a bit into the air and fell on its back, shaking its wings.

My Pokémon leaped into the air to pounce on the Pidgey. Felicity's bird lifted itself into the air before June made contact. June landed and fiercely looked up at the Pidgey. The tension between the two was thick. My hope had returned. I still remained silent.

"Blow it away! Use your gust and whirlwind attacks!" commanded a desperate Felicity, hearing her voice like that made me feel better about the whole situation. I was bringing her down from her high stance.

"June! Watch your eyes!" I shouted. June nodded and raised a wing over her eyes. She understood me perfectly.

The Pidgey flapped its wings furiously, generating a light wind that pushed sand all around. I covered my own eyes to protect them. People in the bleachers started to yell out about how they were blinded. Through the corner of the cracks between my fingers, I could see Rob on the bottom level of the bleachers, watching the battle intensely with both hands over his eyes. His Charizard took to the air to avoid the sand and glided around. The Pidgey flew as high as the light above the arena.

"Get down from there!" shouted Felicity. "You'll just tire yourself if you stay in the air the entire time. Make the wind stronger. Finish off the Torchic."

The Pidgey flapped even faster. The wind began to push June. Her claws made trails in the ground as she stood firm.

Then the Pidgey went down for the dive bomb. Its small body went descended like a rock. The moment I saw the bird enter the wind and get close enough to June, I gave my command.

"Jump!"

And June did. The wind carried June's nimble body into the air. The bird swiftly stopped itself from hitting the ground, but the wind caught it. The wind threw the bird around more violently than it carried June. The Pidgey must've been lighter than June, and it didn't help that its wings were less muscular.

The two Pokémon swirled around, and I knew my next step, even if it was a long shot. Felicity's words about electric Pokémon would be her downfall. I withdrew June back into her PokéBall and pulled out Shinx's. I aimed toward the light fixture above the arena.

With all my might and all my knowledge of proper throwing posture, I pitched the ball up into the air. The ball soared, way above the gust that was beginning to die out.

There was a clank, then an explosion of light above the already bright light above. I shielded my eyes from the light and the sand. I heard the ball clank again, but next to my feet.

Shinx roared, this time with a little bit of deepness. Even though I couldn't see him, he was on top of the light.

"Come down when you're ready!" I shouted. "Then finish off the damn bird!"

Felicity could barely see what was going on with her sleeves over her eyes. She coughed when sand got in her throat. "Ack! What are you doing?!"

The wind slowed down, and the Pidgey stopped twirling in the air. When it finally landed on the ground, it danced around in its dizziness from the spinning, stumbling over its own two feet. Everyone removed their hands and arms from their eyes to continue watching the fight.

They did it just in time to see Shinx pounce from the light. Shinx landed perfectly on the Pidgey's back. With its firm paws, Shinx let out a violent electric bolt into the Pidgey that lasted for a few seconds.

After it was done, Shinx climbed over the Pidgey's incapacitated and smoking body and watched it, hungrily hanging his lower jaw. I hadn't fed either of my Pokémon today and I recalled Shinx was eating another Pokémon when I caught him.

"Call it back, he's hungry," I advised Felicity. The Gym Leader was stunned, taken aback. Rob gave a heavy applause, being truly impressed by the events.

"Wow Ed, your Pokémon are very impressive. Your command was great," she praised. She called back the knocked-out Pidgey.

"One down, one to go, Ed. Ready?" she asked in a playfully taunting tone. From standing across on the other side of the arena, I could even see her right eye twitch violently. I didn't respond. I was halfway done; I could do it, I told myself.

She had a sneer across her face as she tossed up the second PokéBall lightly into the air and caught it on the way down. I became tense. Shinx ran to the front of my block and took his place, ready to fight. He roared.

Felicity put a hand to her mouth and giggled. "He's cute! He'll probably grow up to be quite something. Maybe you'll be something, yourself, Ed."

Her words caught me off-guard. I blushed, while still having my ready face on.

"You just qualified past the first level of being a Pokémon Trainer, in my opinion," Felicity stated, "so I think I should do something special since you have one Pokémon left to beat. I'm going to show you a sample of a higher level of battle."

She reached into her large pocket and pulled out a PokéBall. She threw it underhanded into the air with more flair than before. White light slowly rose out of the ball like steam and formed into a shape. Felicity caught the falling ball with grace.

I fiercely stared at the round form that floated in the air. Once the glow had left it, I saw the figure was really a small sky blue bird with white cottony tufts for wings. I whipped out my PokéDex. Through the corner of my eye, I saw Rob give approving nods. The cool, feminine voice began to speak.

"A Pokémon that has wings like cottony clouds. After enduring winter, in which little food is available, Swablu flocks move closer to towns in the spring."

I folded the PokéDex up and put it back in my pocket. I watched the Swablu slowly sink down to where Felicity stood and landed on her cap innocently.

The tone of the battle flipped completely. Despite its round, large white beak, the Swablu didn't look intimidating in the slightest. The Pokémon's childlike, black and beady eyes simply stared forward, as if it didn't have a single care in the world.

"This is one of my Swablu. Her name's Missy. She's one of my first Altaria's offspring. I'm planning to have Missy one day replace her mother in my main team. Then when she's mature, I'll breed Missy," explained Felicity. She pinched one of the Swablu's wings and rubbed it between her thumb and forefinger.

"Not to brag but," started Felicity smugly, "my Pokémon breeding skills are top notch. I even help Champions breed their Pokémon. I just recently gave a new trainer one of my Swablu. She had a good eye for good Pokemon."

I calmed down a bit out of confusion and idleness. Shinx sat down on his hind legs, tail sweeping the dirt impatiently. "Why, exactly, are you telling me all this?" I asked from curiosity.

Felicity snickered lightly with a menacing tone, "Just don't hurt Missy too much. She's far weaker than the Pidgey you just defeated. I'll probably give up really soon anyway."

Both Shinx and I became wary and ready for anything. I leaned forward against the railing and Shinx got back up, snarling and sparkling.

Felicity pointed a slothful finger at Shinx. The tiny blue bird nearly fell off her head as it flapped itself to the center of the arena and plopped into the circle, facing Shinx.

Shinx dashed toward the Swablu. I almost felt like I should've told Shinx to stop; the Swablu was too peaceful and calming to see. I looked up at Rob to see if I could tell anything from his body language. He was standing straight up, calling his flying Charizard back into his PokéBall.

Then a soft, soothing melody from a small childlike, yet inhuman voice made its way into my ears. I didn't bother trying to find where the song was coming from. Instead, a dumb, lazy smile crept onto my face. Then my eyes became heavy. My mouth began to sag and I started to drool.

Because I had been leaning forward against the railing, I almost fell. I snapped out of the strange mode and took a firm stand in the center of the block. The Swablu was the one singing. It even did a little dance by holding its wings up and waddling around. Shinx was at its feet, sleeping.

Felicity chortled. She was wide awake and cackling. I made a mental note that she was animated when she wanted to be. "A Pokémon's lullaby is one of the biggest mysteries on this planet. Pokémon that can sing teach it to their children and some people have Pokémon to sing to their own children to put them asleep. Scientists are still trying to figure out where the song first came from and why it has a strange effect on living things," she explained.

"Because of that, I give up," continued Felicity. She took Swablu's PokéBall and called the singing bird back into its ball.

"You what?" I asked. I was groggy, and there was a well of disbelief inside me made by her words.

"I give up," she answered, "I normally save my Pidgey for last and start with a Starly, but I wanted to try something different. I could've stood here all day and have Missy sing the entire time, putting your Pokémon to sleep and back to sleep if they ever woke up, but I don't have that kind of patience. It's a stalling tactic I use with my Altaria. Your fight for your second badge will have you fighting against several ailments, so I figured I'd show you something basic. Johnny, lower the blocks."

The both of our platforms sunk slowly back to the ground. With newfound energy from my strange victory, I leapt off the platform before it was completely done descending. I ran to my sleeping Shinx and picked him up. He was seriously out cold. I returned him to his ball. I promised to have a small celebration with him and June once he was awake. For now, I just gave a furious fistpump in the air.

I had done it. Even if the battle was fully in Felicity's hand, I had done it. She came up to me.

"Hold out your hand," she asked with an official air again. I followed her directions and extended my left hand while I put the PokéBall away. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small green box, similar to the kind that normally hold a ring. She opened it and with two fingers, she pulled out a shiny white symbol.

"You have earned the Zephyr Badge," she declared as she placed it in my hand. The badge was almost shaped like a hexagon, except for a small opening on the bottom. A pair of wings was jutting out of the shape and met at the opening. In the center of my palm, I could feel the clasp that kept the pin from touching my skin.

I squeezed the badge into my fist as Felicity continued. My heart was doing cartwheels. My doubts had left the building.

"The Zephyr Badge is proof that you have overcome the Violet City Gym Challenge. As a gym leader, I congratulate you on your victory today and hope that you triumph over other gym leaders in the future to further your Pokémon Trainer career."

I looked up at her with determination and gave a firm nod. I put the badge in my pocket and held out my hand to shake hers.

"As a person, I congratulate you and hope you get all eight badges," she uttered. She grabbed me into a hug. Her overalls smelled like birds.

"Rob told me some things about you," she said quietly, "I'm not the one for sentimental words, but really Ed, I want you to do it. Get eight badges. Get seven more."

I was confused whether or not I should embrace her back, but she let go before I could do anything. She surveyed the bleachers. Her Swablu had put most of the people watching into a deep sleep. I also saw that Rob was gone.

"Now go on, get your Pokémon healed and go to your next gym," she suggested. "The closest gyms are in Ecruteak and Azalea. Go to whichever one you want. I gotta make wake up my trainers here."

We gave each other a farewell and I raced up the stairs to the area above the bleachers.

I had gotten my first badge.

"Hey Ed! Wait a minute! One more thing!" shouted Felicity from the arena. She ran up the stairs behind me.

"I want to have a rematch whenever you come back to Violet City or whenever you're ready," she demanded. "I always have a rematch with new trainers that earn the badge here." She smiled darkly. "I gotta see if my job's worth it."

I found myself questioning what exactly her and Rob talked about that time he was gone, but my excitement over winning had enveloped me completely. I gave her a hug.

"I will Felicity. I'll get seven more badges and come back! Thank you!" I shouted in joy.

She laughed softly. "Yeah well, you do that. You do that."

After that, I left the gym. The rain had stopped and the scent of the gone rain filled my lungs as I ran to the Pokémon Center. I was so careless and exuberant that I ran into a Blissey and her human nurse companion. After telling them both numerous apologies, I made my way to the reception desk and gave the lady my Pokémon.

"I really should give Felicity more credit," thoughtfully said Rob from behind me. I turned around to find him leisurely sitting on a bench against a wall. On the floor next to him was a black statue of a fox creature with blood red eyes and yellow markings on its ears and tail, and rings on its legs and head. Beside it was a large, brand new looking back pack with red, yellow, and white designs over a black color all around it.

"Rob, I did it! Did you see it?!" I cried. I pulled out the Zephyr Badge and flashed it in his face with a shaking hand. He gave his goofy smile, "Yeah I saw. You freaked out against a Pidgey because it somehow managed to electrocute your electric Pokémon. I hope you realize what I just said made no sense. Also, the moment her Swablu started singing, you were done. She could've just had it fly to the overhead light or on her perch. You wouldn't have been able to reach it with Pokemon falling asleep every second."

"Oh shut up Rob, I won!" I exclaimed, disregarding the hard truths he presented, "I got that damn Pidgey!"

Rob opened his mouth to say something, and then he blinked, and then gave a conceding sigh. "Yeah, you did. I was joking earlier. Somewhat. Good job man. Very anticlimatic, but still, good job. Did she give you money?"

I shook my head. "Nope."

"Good. I would've had major problems about it if she did."

He got up. The statue got up as well and my heart skipped in a beat in fright from the sudden movement.

"This is my Umbreon. I'm taking her with me to Ecruteak," said Rob gravely. He made his way toward the Center's exit. The dark fox ignored my presence completely as it followed. My hand instinctively reached to my back pocket, took out my PokéDex, and scanned the Umbreon.

"When exposed to the moon's aura, the rings on its body glow faintly and it gains a mysterious power," said the Dex. At the edge of my sight, I noticed the backpack was still on the floor.

"Hey Rob! Wait, you left-"

"It's yours!" shouted Rob without a glance back. "Take it! You'll need it if you want to go through forests! And it's going to be warmer down south!"

The automatic doors opened and he left with his Umbreon. When the doors closed behind them, I sat down on the bench he was on and lifted the backpack up and put it to my feet. I opened it.

Inside was my old backpack was crammed into it all crumpled up, a cap that was yellow in the front and black in the back, a yellow trainer's vest with the price tag still on it, and a fine, wrapped crimson cloth that was as long as my forearm. Everything that was in my previous bag was in this new one like my clothes, toiletries, empty PokéBalls, and a single sandwich.

I looked at the vest's price tag. The cost was one-hundred dollars. I didn't even want to imagine what the backpack was worth; it seemed to be the same kind Rob carried, but smaller, but way superior to my old backpack, which was folded into it with enough room to spare. I unwrapped the cloth in my hand, just in case whatever was in it was fragile.

The cloth revealed a sparkling knife with a thick, small piece of wood intensely taped to it. It was the hilt. Under the knife was a piece of scrap paper. I glanced around me at all the nurses, trainers, and Pokémon walking about, making sure they didn't notice me with a weapon. I put the knife into the backpack before anyone spotted me, then read the note:

_I have to run to Ecruteak. Sorry to be brief. What we talked about earlier today made me think about too many things, and I'm sure I'll be thinking about them on the way to Ecruteak to meet up with Roger, my brother._

_I used some of the money I won from the battles against those bird trainers to get you the backpack, the trainer's vest, an actual badge cloth, and a Pokémon League hat. I kept one of the feathers from the Skarmory that attacked you and made you a knife. I'm sure you can fix it up better; you definitely have the creativity to._

_I can't stop you from going to Ecruteak. Like I said, you do what you want. I'll be seeing you soon regardless of what you decide to do._

_Rob_

_PS: Umbreon kicks ass. I know._

_PPS: Most of your sandwiches got hard. I tried to eat one. I left you the softest one. Your money is also in your old bag. I didn't touch it._

I had to stifle a laugh at the last bit of the letter as I folded it and put it in the backpack. While the backpack was open, I examined the knife and noticed it had a spine going down the center of the perfectly symmetrical blade. The knife itself was fine, but the hilt was nothing but a piece of branch duct taped to the blade. Rob really must've not done so well in his arts and crafts classes.

My plans were to walk around the block and return to the Center to get my Pokémon. I put everything back into the backpack except for the cloth; I had one more action to do.

I took out my new badge, removed the pin clasp, and stuck the badge on the left part of the cloth. I put the clasp on the piece of the pin that stuck out from behind the cloth. Then I folded it up and put in my backpack, then left the building, only to find myself taking another seat next to the bushes near the entrance.

The debate of whether to go to Ecruteak or Azalea went on in my head. Ecruteak was the most logical choice, but for whatever reason, Rob was against it. It was weird acknowledging Rob had issues of his own to deal with.

Rob was a good friend. He saved my life and stuck with me when I needed someone. Listening to him probably was the best thing I could do. And speaking of good people, I had promised myself that I'd write a letter to my parents. I decided to procrastinate on that further. Also, I recalled Alice telling me back in Cherrygrove that she would be heading to Azalea.

I paused. For some reason, I felt like a kid about to open a present. I took out my hat and put it on. My red hair jutted out of the sides and back, but it felt snug. Then I took out the vest and put it on. After examining myself, I concluded that I actually looked like a trainer now. When I put the backpack on, I felt like I could do anything, go anywhere, and take on anyone.

More minutes passed before I finally went back in to get my Pokémon from the Center. The moment the balls were handed to me, I let them out. I gave June five, a tight hug, and put her on my shoulder. I gave Shinx a tight hug as well. He was at my side as we left the building.

For Rob, I headed south through the boulevards of Violet City and exited the city limits. Walking past the fields where bird Pokemon trainers trained their Pokemon, I found myself on a wide sidewalk. To the left of me, behind thick concrete dividers, vehicular traffic flowed smoothly to and from Violet. To my right, on the grass in front of the forest of trees, a group of men were repairing a large sign that read ROUTE 36 - TOWARD AZALEA TOWN/ EXIT G - TOWARD GOLDENROD CITY.

In the back of my head, I started thinking that heading south would be pretty awesome. Warm weather was my thing, and it did get chilly in Violet City. Azalea Town wouldn't be so bad, and I could fend for myself easier now with June and Shinx at my side. Having the knife was good too.

The journey to Azalea, I thought, may prove to be worthwhile.


	8. Chapter VIII: The World's Declaration

__

"The hardest job in the world, in my opinion, is being both a young girl and a Pokémon Trainer. If you want to see something sad, head to West Goldenrod and find a massage parlor. Young girls prostituting themselves. Young as ten. Whatever sort of god or gods you believe in, whether it's The Arceus, or The Dialga and The Palkia, or The Holy Deity, or whatever, will not prepare you to see this.

And this is just an alternative for the girls that some of them even choose, if they're not forced into it. You can only fathom what they go through in the world at large."

-Jenny Fifer, policewoman of Goldenrod City.

Chapter VIII: The World's Declaration

~*~*~*

Two and a half days had passed since winning my first badge. Following the road of Route 36 south, I stopped in a few small towns to rest, buy supplies, and sleep. On the first night, I had slept in an inn in a town called Joshua. The next day, I continued my trek to Azalea and was challenged by a few trainers. I lost more battles than I won. Most of the trainers were leagues above my experience, and it didn't help that they demanded money. By the time night came around again, my money decreased to roughly two hundred dollars. My newly found cocky and overzealous attitude got the better of me, letting my one badge get to my head. Through the woods on the side of the main road, I came across another small town called Fir. There, I bought a small tent for a hundred dollars, healed June and Shinx, and camped on the outskirts; my money was getting scarce. June and Shinx had to stay out of their PokéBalls that night to protect our meager camp.

When the morning came, we packed up and continued south. June and Shinx walked by my side, showing passing trainers that another trainer wanted to battle. I needed money, and the best income for a trainer is to win battles. The worst part about this was how some trainers would hide their badges from other people, so nobody could tell how experienced they were. Also, I noticed most trainers with less experience often kept their Pokémon out, walking alongside. Some experienced trainers were respectful and weren't bullies by not challenging others who seemed weaker, but there were a few counter-examples as the journey continued. It was almost terrible to look at. Ferocious, intimidating Pokémon crushing the infantile, smaller Pokémon. These stronger Pokémon were most likely fully evolved Pokémon; Rob's Charizard grouped perfectly with them in their menacing, aggressive looks. I was sure not all Pokémon ended up that way. Or, at least hoped not.

Around midday, the road began to rise up. The path for people divided from the highway, making an offshoot to the right and into a blanket of trees while the highway rose up into a bridge held up by tall concrete stilts. Peering down below the bridge, my eyes scanned over several large caves with what looked like stone pillars in front of the entrances. These surrounded a clearing, where bulldozers and cranes were parked and tents were put up. People and Pokémon were going in and out of the caves. Some of the people wore those brown cargo clothes that archaeologists wear, and most of the Pokémon were large, gray, heavy-looking Pokémon that stood upright. Even from far below, they looked just as intimidating as the evolved Pokémon I saw before.

We went down the path, June on my shoulder and Shinx at my feet. Trainers were bound to be in the encampment, especially if the way to Azalea on foot forced trainers to pass by the caves.

The trees on the sides reached impressive heights. White, dexterous, and fur balled Mankey slung their way through the branches overhead. Other than their grunts and my footsteps, there was no sound.

When the path started to bend, the Mankey grunts stopped as well. Everything became silent. My feet slowed down and started creeping and my entire body became tense with alertness. My eyes darted from the right to the left, expecting anything or anyone to jump out to attack us. My hands reached around my backpack and pulled out the Skarmory knife Rob made for me, holding it out. Shinx snarled with primal rage as the area around his body started flickering with electricity. He stayed in place as well. June jumped down from her perch on my shoulder and scanned her large orange head around. Unlike Shinx, she was more curious than defensive. June stuck to my leg, going forward with me.

Then Shinx suddenly stopped snarling. Both June and I turned around.

My eyes immediately focused on the large, terrible face that cast a side glance at me, with deep yellow eyes outlined with furious red eyelids. A sadistic black smile was painted underneath.

A second later, it hit me that the face was made up of multicolored scales. Then the full picture of what was in front of me appeared. A giant violet snake with a menacing face on its hood had come up to me and my Pokémon. Shinx was frozen in his flesh, yet trembling slightly, as it stared up at the snake's real head, whose eyes were glossed over white. June dashed up to it and placed her wings against the snake's skin.

The snake's eyes rolled into their normal position with piercing black pupils when June's heat started burning its scales. Hissing sharply at June, it twisted its tail around and whipped June away with a flick. June rolled into a tree's base with a loud enough thud to make me pull out her PokéBall for safety.

The snake opened its wide jaws, baring its rows of small serrated teeth and revealing a round slit in its dark gums. A liquid shot out toward June. She swiftly dived to the side, and the liquid splashed on the tree's bark. Smoke sizzled from the spot, and incinerated the bark while making tiny popping bubbles. The snake Pokémon could shoot acid.

June pushed herself onto her feet and balled her right wing into a fist. She charged at the colossal snake; its body was nearly twice as thick as she was.

The snake's flesh enveloped her fist and came clean off as she impacted, smoke coming from the searing wound. June twisted her body around and prepared another hit from her left wing. The snake, the wound nothing but a small bleeding gash on its immense, long figure, slung itself forward and knocking the petrified Shinx away.

June was suddenly wrapped into the snake's coil. She shrieked as she was spun. The snake flipped itself over to quickly crush her small frame.

My body acted on automatically; my mind had been frozen in fear the entire time while I watched the snake attack my Pokémon. Lunging, I stabbed the snake with my knife, right into the coil squeezing June. June wouldn't die. Not by my watch. She gave me my chance for freedom. I needed her.

The snake cried out a guttural hiss. Unwrapping itself from June's short body, it targeted me. Shooting its head into my legs, I fell over. The snake took the chance and coiled itself around me; my arms instinctively shot up in the air to avoid being caught in the snake's grasp. My ribs shook and my lungs contracted in increasing, flaming pain as it tightened around me.

My hands held the knife with all of my steadfastness to survive and to get through this. My teeth gritted from my agony, but my eyes were determined.

To be honest, the fact that I had a badge drove me to attempt to live.

The snake was going to be sent to Hell. With every ounce of strength inside of me, my arms rose up the knife and brought the blade down repeatedly on the coils. Blood splashed on my vest and skin every time the blade was pulled out of the snake's flesh. The snake screamed in anguish as it loosened its grip. When it was loose enough, I pulled myself out of its coils on my knees. June jumped on its hood, using her wings to sear its skin. The snake collapsed onto its back.

Flipping the knife upside down with my fingers, I prepared to kill the serpentine Pokémon. The steps to the writhing snake were heavy. Falling to my knees, holding the knife over my head, the snake suffering from June's burning at my feet, my resolution was to end this thing's life for trying to harm me and my Pokémon.

The blade came down.

The knife impacted the concrete, going through red light, bouncing out of my hand. The snake was being called into a PokéBall.

My collar was pulled sharply from behind, forcing me to stand up on my legs and dropping my knife. Then I was twisted around, and sucker punched in the left side of my face. My head took my body with it, collapsing. A broad-muscled, chunky teenager was rubbing his knuckles in his other hand, sneering down at me in a grey wifebeater. His dark crew cut made him look like an army kid.

_"YOU FUCKER! I'LL KILL YOU!"_ screeched a girl's voice. She pounced on me and squeezed her hands around my neck, choking me and banging my skull against the concrete. Her long wispy brown hair whipped against my mouth, making me spit as I struggled to get her off of me. Shoving her to the ground and getting up to gain my composure, the boy put me in a headlock. He reeked from sweat.

"You _really_ picked the wrong bitch to mess with," he explained in a way to say I made a horrible mistake. Saliva splashed onto my forehead, and dripped down to my nose, across my lips, and onto the boy's arm. The girl had spit on me. Her hair was frizzy and stuck out in random places, reaching down to her narrow hips. Her figure was nearly nonexistent, just slender. With her pale skin, long nose, plain blue smock, and hazel eyes, she looked like a witch from a horror story. Her lips were thin from her baring her slightly bucked teeth at me.

"Eww Anne, your nasty ass spit got on my arm!" shouted the boy. He let go of me and rubbed his forearm against his shirt. The girl named Ann's hand slapped me across the face, on the same check that was punched. Bruising would definitely happen. And my head was rattled as well.

My Pokémon had been watching the entire time. Because they were simply children, they were most likely confused at seeing humans attack each other. That passed over, however. June chirped loudly in retaliation and went after the fat kid, the tips of her wings literally glowing from heat for the first time.

"Oh damn! Damn!" yelped the boy. He ran into the trees with June pursuing him. Shinx recovered from his strange, sudden paralysis induced by the snake. He kicked on his electricity and snarled at the girl, baring his teeth.

She cackled, staring down Shinx. "You did look like a trainer," she jeered at me with her back turned. "Your pussycat Pokémon's about to die."

The girl reached into a side pocket and pulled out what looked like a deactivated PokéBall with a silver top and a black bottom. She pressed the white center button, enlarging the ball.

Her threat was all I needed. Violently snatching her arm to stop her from doing whatever she was going to do with the ball, my hand squeezed her wrist. The ball dropped from her hand.

A new person's hands caught the PokéBall. This one was a tan-skinned kid with short black and greasy hair, fairly built yet skinny. He looked to be around my age, but had enough agility to come out of nowhere and to crouch and catch the ball before it hit the ground.

"Anne, don't be stupid," he murmured as he got up and deactivated the PokéBall. He was slightly taller than me. Bags from lack of sleep hung from his deceivingly alert light green eyes. He wore a tight black t-shirt and black jeans with worn white sneakers that had no laces. He put the ball into his pocket. "We can't fool around with these," he flatly put.

Anne wrenched her wrist from my grip. Her voice went from a screeching mess to a whiny and pitiful tone. "He tried to kill my Arbok!"

"He should've," replied the new kid solemnly. "You shouldn't have let it out in the woods by itself. It's a goddamn ten foot snake. I'd'a killed it if it came after me."

He went up to me and held out a hand. "My name's Darius. I'm so, so sorry for everything. My girlfriend here decided to let her Arbok hunt for food in the woods. She seemed to forgot that a snake that big can eat a person easily."

My hand met his, and received a firm shake. Words failed to come out of my mouth as my brain started to reevaluate what just happened to me.

"I gotta get to a Pokémon Center!" whined Anne. "My Arbok might die!" Her sadness reminded me of a little girl crying about a broken doll rather than fearing the loss of a living thing.

"Tough luck," retorted Darius sharply. "That thing was scary as hell anyway. Where's Ned?"

"But, it got us food," she uttered.

The big one called Ned burst out from the trees, huffing, still being chased by a murderous June. The sight would've been hilarious to watch, but my near-death experience still hung over me. Returning June to her ball, her ball stayed at my side ready to be thrown down at any time just in case. The big kid stumbled over to me, wheezing hard. He spoke between hard breaths.

"Oh my god. I. Have never. Ran. So fast. From. Something so. Little," he managed to get out of his mouth. His hands were to his knees as he panted.

"You punched him, didn't you?" asked Darius. He stared at my left cheek, which probably started bruising since it now ached. "You really gotta stop doing what Anne tells you to do. You know you hate that damn Arbok too."

Ned didn't bother to respond. Whether or not he heard Darius was questionable. Darius eyed me up and down, observing my now blood-stained clothes.

"You're a trainer? You dress like one, but only more hardcore since you're all covered in blood," he said with an admiring smirk. "What's your name?"

"Ed Willow," I muttered. Darius cocked his head slightly in confusion, and then brought it back up in realization.

"You know what? You should come to our camp," suggested Darius. "I didn't even think about how fucked up it was to have to fight a giant snake."

"Why should _he_ come to our camp?" sassed Anne, immaturely irritated over her Arbok. Darius ignored her.

"Come on Ed. We're camped with the archaeologists up at the ruins. We're gonna roast a Staravia and open up some beans. Eat with us. It's the least we can do."

Anne opened her mouth again to begin a tirade. Darius shot her a vehement glance, shutting her up before she even said a single word. She pouted, and then stomped on ahead.

"Well, there she goes," Darius sighed, his face in his palm. "Well, come on. I'm starving."

After returning Shinx to his Poké Ball, I went with them down the path. Anne had gone well ahead of us. The two guys spoke to each other while nothing came out of me. My fighting off the Arbok had occupied my head.

First it was the Skarmory, then, an Arbok. This time, nobody had to save me. Rob wasn't here to take care of me. The Arbok would've been dead if Anne hadn't returned it.

My lips curled into a small smile.

"What's up?" Ned asked, noticing my weird behavior. He seemed pretty chill after punching me in the face and having me in a chokehold.

"Just thinking," I replied quietly and honestly. The fight against Felicity back in Violet City was what did it most likely. Because of the badge she gave me, my resolve for getting eight gym badges became stronger. Probably because she showed me it was possible for someone like me to get a badge.

Then there was the fact that she practically let me win (the fact that Rob wanted so badly to see me acknowledge). Her Swablu could've easily kept putting my Pokémon to sleep, and there's no doubt that it knew how to attack.

Unless Rob was sleeping with the gym leader in Azalea Town, the second badge wouldn't just be handed over to me. Felicity herself said that she chose her Swablu so she could show me how 'second level' battling was like, and even then she went easy on me. After training June and Shinx against flying Pokémon, that little Pidgey was still insanely good.

My enthusiasm from getting my first badge from Felicity fell slightly. This was probably what Rob wanted me to realize. The hard truth was that Felicity pitied me in the end. Would other gym leaders pity me? Would they know how I was forced to become a Pokémon Trainer? Would they care? Would I care?

'Don't think' went through my head. Thinking too much made me depressed so far, and not getting depressed worked out so far. Time for that could come later. However, one question needed to be asked since Azalea was my destination.

"Are any of you guys from Azalea Town?" I piped. Darius and Ned were surprised to even hear me speak.

"All three of us are," responded Ned. "Why? What's up?"

"I bet I know what you want; you couldn't figure it out, Ned? Since you're a trainer, you're heading there for the Pokémon League badge, right?" asked Darius.

My head nodded vigorously. "I was wondering about the gym there. What kind of Pokémon does it use?"

"They're all bugs. Big, big bugs," emphasized Ned.

Bug types. June could burn them. Either that or my team needed a new addition. If the gym leader was going to use tactics like putting my Pokémon to sleep, then perhaps just having June run up to them wouldn't be a good idea. Shinx could electrocute them, but he dropped like a log against the singing Swablu.

Yeah, my team needed refining. The thought was pasted in the back of my head as we entered the campsite.

This was my first time at an excavation site. The tall and strong grey Pokémon seen earlier walked alongside several professors and diggers in and out of the many caves. They carried large chunks of slabs of stone ornate with strange glyph Pokémon called Unown on them. The Pokémon were similar to giant upright muscular lizards with spines on their back, but a drill was on their snouts. The drill, along with their ferocious fangs that still hung out when the mouth was closed and their red eyes, made me stay clear of them. That didn't stop me from wanting to hear what my PokéDex had to say though.

"Rhydon has a horn that serves as a drill. It is used for destroying rocks and boulders. This Pokémon occasionally rams into streams of magma, but the armor-like hide prevents it from feeling the heat," informed the PokéDex.

"Yeah, the Rhydon make so much noise when they're digging in the ruins," responded Darius as we all got out of a professor's way that was pushing a covered cart into a tent. The eyes of all the older people on were on me because of how beat up my face and clothes were. None of them bothered to approach me though.

"What are they looking for?" I asked.

"They're pulling out Unown to analyze them," answered Ned. TV Specials about Unown were on all the time. They were small black Pokémon with a single large eye. These Pokémon were shaped like letters of current languages and of dead languages. A common myth is that these Pokémon helped teach humanity the alphabets back when the world was young. The television programs were fairly interesting, but seeing Unown in person wasn't as exciting for some reason. The Pokémon were very small and were just plastered onto slabs. Their eyes stared into nothingness.

The three of us reached the edge of the treeless area in the woods, well away from the caves and the working people and Pokémon, and arrived at Darius', Anne's, and Ned's camp, which was just a clearing with three sleeping bags around the side. Their belongings were stuffed in backpacks and duffle bags that were piled together in a corner, away from the bundle of charred rocks and sticks in the center. Anne was already plucking a decapitated Staravia, cross-legged on the ground, not even raising her head at us.

"Awesome, you've started already," praised Darius. "Me and Ned'll get more wood. Ed, could you set the fire when we come back? None of us have fire Pokémon and we're out of matches."

"Because you smoked them all up," murmured Anne, her hands covered in blood and grey feathers. The macabre image reminded me that my clothes needed washing to get rid of the Arbok's bloodstains. Darius glared daggers at her.

"They were my matches anyway," he stated menacingly. "You really ought to watch your mouth, you're becoming annoying again," Darius continued darkly.

Anne's face sunk even lower, her hair hiding all of her skin. Ned's head went back and forth between the two.

"Darius, not now. Let's go get the wood," he demanded innocently, as if to want the best for them.

Darius stared down at Anne for a good second before even acknowledging that Ned said something. He looked up at Ned, and the two went into the woods. Anne continued plucking the bird. I let June out and she jumped on my shoulder. My fingers tapped her talons as they gripped my skin gently.

"Are you from Hoenn?" Anne asked quietly. "Ned tells me that Torchics are given to trainers in Hoenn."

"Nah," I answered. "I live here in Johto." The words felt strange coming out of my mouth, especially 'live'. "To be honest, more like I lived in Johto. I'm from New Bark Town to the east."

Anne flipped the carcass over and plucked the backside. "I'm from Azalea Town. My first Pokémon was an Ekans." Her hands grabbed a harsh handful of feathers and pulled them out violently. "It turned into an Arbok recently, you know, the one you almost killed," she said with an attitude. Her reaction to me defending myself against her Pokémon started to irritate me.

"Look," I started, "your Arbok almost killed me and my Pokémon. It literally hunted us down. What was I supposed to do? I just turned around and saw the thing in front of my Shinx, doing something strange to it. Then it attacked me and June, my Torchic."

Anne kept silent, biting her bottom lip. Her plucking became slower and lethargic. My words had an effect on her.

"You can sit down," she finally said. "I bet you're tired after that ordeal. You haven't sat down since my brother knocked you flat."

Ned was her brother? They looked nothing alike. Sitting down on the ground in front of her, I grabbed June and put her down on the ground next to me. She got closer to me and stared at Anne, holding her wings outstretched; June was protecting me from her.

Anne snickered. "That's pretty cute. My Arbok does things like that sometimes. He killed this Staravia and brought it back to me when I said I was hungry."

She was a trainer, and by the looks of it, she was forced into it. We were in the same boat.

"Did you choose to become a trainer?" she asked. She had paused her plucking to look up at me. Her eyes seemed to stare straight into my very existence, as if she already knew the answer to her question. June climbed into my arms and settled in my lap, rubbing her head against my chest, comforting me with her natural warmth.

"No," I replied gravely. "My parents threw me out once they received the letter from the HDA." The actual letter never met my eyes, but my parents made sure to tell me all about it.

"The House of Domestic Affairs can kiss my ass," crudely taunted Anne. Her plucking became aggressive again and feathers went into the air. "Me and Ned lived with our mom. Our dad died back when we when Ned was a baby and I was three. My mom was poor, and could barely pay for the taxes on the house, but she did every year, except this one. Then one day, they sent that letter. Mom hid it from us for a few weeks, and then they sent a damn professor and evictors. The Ekans was literally shoved in my hands. My brother was given a Surskit.

"It was all so stupid and unnecessary. The evictors' only shred of decency was to burst into our rooms and pull out a few clothes here and there and throw them on the ground at our feet."

Anne's voice cracked. She wiped retained tears away with the back of her bloody hand. What she said about evictors being sent to homes was new to me. Did my parents know about the procedure? If they did, then did they throw me out early to avoid them? My mind raced through possible solutions, and hope lit up in my heart.

"Me and Ned ran into Darius before we left Azalea. He was forced out too. Me and him dated back in school, so I followed him, and Ned followed me. He got us into Team Zero."

Those two words again. Team Zero. Rob went ahead to Ecruteak city because of Team Zero. My desire to know more about this mysterious group was piqued. Rob had been distressed by these guys, and Rob didn't seem like the type to let that happen easily.

"What's Team Zero exactly?" I inquired. Anne opened her mouth to reply, but Darius beat her to it. He and Ned returned with a bundle of sticks each and threw them down into the charred circle in the center.

"Team Zero is a group that fights against the Amber Act, the law that says kids must become servants of the government until the government thinks they've done enough work," spouted Darius with a swell of pride. "Have your Torchic light the fire and I'll explain more."

Telling June to do something and letting her do whatever were two different things. The last time she'd been giving commands was right before we were attacked by the Skarmory, and she didn't listen to them at all. Another try couldn't hurt much though.

"June, use your fire on those sticks," I commanded. She looked up at me with her large round orange head and blinked childishly. Then she waddled over to the branches and held her wings out in front of it. For the first time ever, a light fire poured from the tips. The branches were ablaze and a column of smoke rose into the air. She was getting more powerful.

"Nice," commended Darius. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket and held the end of it close to the fire to light it. He put the cigarette to his lips, inhaled, and blew out a puff of smoke. He sat down next to me. Ned dug through the bags and pulled out cans of baked beans and Anne set up branches and strings to roast the Staravia carcass above the fire.

"I guess Anne told you about how she was thrown out while Ned and I were gone. All three of us are in it," Darius explained coolly, taking a puff of his cigarette. His scent of his breath was starting to suffer from the tobacco. "Team Zero's against all of that forcing business. It's made up of people who are sick of the Amber Act, like forced trainers like us." He gestured to Ned and Anne who were doing their respective jobs to prepare the food.

"Team Zero's purpose is to show the world that the Amber Act sucks," Darius flatly put.

That made sense to me; the law did suck. Team Zero was already cool in my book. However, Rob's departure didn't settle well with me at all. And then there were all those homeless kids heading north.

"Is there something going on in Ecruteak City with Team Zero?" I finally asked.

Darius nodded, taking another puff away from my face. "Yeah, all recruits are supposed to gather there any time before August."

By my estimates, it was nearing the end of June. "More?" I pointed out. "What were the other things you had to do?"

He nodded again. "Yeah. Check this out." He took another puff from his cigarette. He held it in his teeth as he pulled out the deactivated silver and black Poké Ball, holding it between his pointer and middle finger. Before with Anne it wasn't clearly visible, but there was a black zero with a line going through it diagonally printed on the top silver portion. "This is a special Poké Ball. Team Zero's Zero Ball. I don't know why it's called the Zero Ball, but this thing's insane. Guess what's in it."

Being new to the world of training Pokémon, I had no idea. "Tell me."

Darius grinned in glee. "Zubat. Zubat in this one."

He used the name 'Zubat' in the plural form. "What do you mean?"

His smile stretched from ear to ear. "There are about, I dunno, thirty Zubat in this one ball. I got a ton of Zubat from the Union Cave down south."

The only question I had came out. "How? That's impossible isn't it?"

Darius chortled. "Nope! I thought it was too, but when I first did it, it blew my mind. And it'll blow yours too, because Ned here's gonna do it tonight."

"Yep," answered Ned, now cracking open cans of beans with a knife. My knife. He must've picked it up on the way here. Without a word, my hand opened up toward him. Nothing had to be said. "Let me just use it to open the cans. I just washed it. I planned on giving it back to you anyway," he quickly said.

"Good. We're not thieves," proclaimed Darius as he puffed out more smoke. "But yeah, every night, the Unown swarm out of the ruins and float around in the air. Ned's gonna catch a bunch of 'em in his Zero Ball. Then we're gonna head up to Ecruteak and wait out July. You can come if you want. Hell, here!"

Darius reached into his pocket again and pulled out a second deactivated Zero Ball. He held it out for me to take.

"Go on. You're gonna want one when you see what it can do, so go on and take it!" he pushed. "It's my last one." He dropped it into my open palm. My mouth remained shut as I put the ball in my backpack. From my perspective, the ball didn't have to be used at all, but it would be nice to have, depending on what Ned did with his tonight. June skipped over to Anne, who'd been roasting the Staravia over the fire. June was hungry. No doubt Shinx was either. Once he was released, he started to flicker in electricity at the three kids, snarling.

"Stop," I commanded. And he stopped and came close to my side, watching the three warily. My fingers rubbed behind his ear to show my satisfaction in him.

Before touching my food, Ned handed me my knife back. The four of us ate pieces of the Staravia and a can of beans each. My appetite was ravenous from days from eating so little to save money, yet I made sure to share with June and Shinx. On top of that, the food was very tasty, making me consider stopping in a store along the way to buy some easy to cook food. Hunting was also shaping up to be a decent decision too. We talked animatedly as we ate. Time passed, and the moon rose beside the twinkling stars. The tents out in front of the ruins had strobe lights hanging from them.

As Darius said, Unown swarmed out of the cave and into the sky. Any number used to guess how many there were would've been too low. They literally made their own cloud, their own black and white cloud. The archaeologists and their Rhydon had stopped entering the cave right before the swarm. They all watched above.

"Are we even allowed to be here," asked Ned timidly, holding an activated Zero Ball, ready to throw. "The light's going to be huge. Those doctors are going to come after us I think."

"They won't catch us," retorted Darius. The three had packed up their belongings and carried their bags on their backs and sides. We all stood just outside the encampment. "Besides, we're trainers by law. They can't touch us and they didn't even stop us when we first set up camp. They could probably report us to the cops, but we'll be long gone before then. And the light will mess up their vision."

The idea sounded horribly stupid and my conscious was demanding me to run right now, due south. However, my feet stayed planted to the ground; the mysterious Zero Ball had me entangled. June and Shinx were definitely in their Poké Balls.

"Wouldn't it be better if he caught Rhydon instead? That way, if the doctors sent them after us, they'd have less?" squeaked Anne. "And we're going to run to the path north, right?" She knew full and well the idea was half-baked and her uneasiness was obvious from how her eyes darted around at the Rhydon scattered around. They were all watching the infinite Unown gather.

"We're only supposed to get weak Pokémon. Rhydon are too strong," answered Darius as he watched the floating letters.

Then the worst happened.

"Ah kids! Glad you can witness this magnificent Unown event!" exclaimed an elderly professor who noticed us. He wore a straw hat over his white hair and a dirtied T-shirt with brown cargo pants. "You can even see they're spelling words too! Look over there! 'Organism'! Oh there! 'Stagnation'. Strange. 'Former'? Makes no sense. There's something really good! 'Chaos.' I wonder what this could all mean. And what's all that stuff on your vest, boy? Are you ok, son? Your face doesn't look to well either. You trainers go through so much."

As interesting as what the man was saying, and even more interesting was how the words he pointed out were actually being formed in the sky, the main thing on my mind was to run.

Darius pulled me down and whispered into my ear. "Alright Ed, since you're going to Azalea, run back to where we ate and go straight through the woods behind it. Just keep running until you hit a path. Follow it until you get on the Union Overpass. Take that to straight into Azalea. It'll take a day or two to reach it. Got me?"

I nodded and whispered back, "Yeah, just do this so I can go."

Darius smirked. "Yeah, I know what you mean." He rose up. "Hey mister, what's that?!" He pointed to a part of the Unown cloud behind the man.

"Hrm? What is it?" The professor dumbly turned around. Darius nudged Ned.

Ned got the hint. He slung the Zero Ball up into the cloud.

The sky was enveloped in a bright light. A combination of screams and roars filled my ears. My feet did an about-face and ran out of anxiety.

"Cya!" shouted Anne. Her voice quickly decreased in volume; she most likely bolted at the same moment I did.

When the trees at the edge of the giant clearing were meters away from me, my heart felt a bit more secure. Turning around briefly, I saw a huge hole in the cloud of Unown. Then a small silver speck fell toward a boy with outstretched arms. Ned. He caught the ball and dashed ahead. The Rhydon and the professors were blinded, some raging and some confused.

That was enough of a breather. After that, I jetted through the woods in front of me. Not getting caught was my only priority. Time would come later to think about what I learned and saw. Just not now. However, the words 'Organism', 'Former', 'Stagnation', stuck in my head and repeated themselves over and over.

When the word 'Chaos' came, my head ached and my stomach churned, causing me to stop running and to throw up. Anne did slam my head against concrete earlier.

At the time, I didn't understand why those words cycled through my head like they did. The feeling was otherworldly. The concept that my mind was being violated didn't hit me until after the path Darius told me about was under my feet. My journey continued, even at the middle of the night. Letting June and Shinx stay in their Poké Balls was the best thing to do; a mix of frustration, confusion, and sickness stirred inside of me. Darius didn't tell me all he knew; somebody had to have told him those 'first instructions' to catch weak Pokémon in swarms. And that idea for Ned to catch all those Unown wasn't even thought out well. It was as if Darius just wanted to show off his fancy Poké Ball.

One of which was in my backpack.

As impressive as it was seeing Ned catch all those Unown at once, was it really necessary? War-like battles against trainers never happened, as far as I knew, and those were way too many Pokémon to take care of.

Hopefully Team Zero would end the Amber Act, but for now, separating myself from them was the best thing. The Zero Ball in my backpack would be kept secret.

For now, the goal was to get the Azalea Pokémon Gym badge. 'Stop thinking.' However those words from the Unown still rung in my head, just not as intense as they were before, not enough to make me have another headache.

Organism. Former. Stagnation. Chaos. These words would come into play later on in my journey. When they finally did, it was like being punched in the face.


	9. Chapter IX: The Champion, The Gym Leader

_/////////////////////////////// Author's Note//////////_

_Hey guys, it's been a while since I had one of these above a chapter. So far, all I've been doing is copying and pasting my word documents to the upload manager thing for ._

_I just want to say thanks for reading this story and taking the time to give me your thoughts by reviewing it. I recently looked at my reviews and I was more than surprised at what I read. You guys are the ones who keep me posting this on . I have up to Chapter 17 completed (this story's going to be LOOOONG _) and I will keep writing._

_Just keep reading and reviewing. The more readers I get, the more I feel like I'm writing something worthwhile. The more reviews I get, the more I will improve._

_So go on! Tell your friends on about Pokemon 0! Have them read it!_

_///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////_

Chapter IX: The Champion, the Gym Leaders, and the Pokémon

_A Metagross is a rare Pokemon that's hardly ever seen outside of pictures in Steel Types textbooks and articles on Psychic Types. The first one I saw in my life was a night in Goldenrod City about twenty five years ago. One of the leaders of Team Zero, the woman when she was a girl, rode it through the air. Her armies of Pokemon gathered around the Metagross and fended well against the Champions. It was an impressive sight, seeing this silver, half-ton spectacle fly through the air. This made me want to find a Beldum, the pre-evolved first stage of a Metagross._

_When a Beldum's brain reaches maturity, it will emit psionically-charged electromagnetic waves that other matured Beldum sense. All of the Beldum gather together in a swarm and fuse in pairs, creating Metang, the second evolution. Metang, having two brains of a Beldum within its thick hide and having arms along with its expanded psychic powers, is a very powerful and able Pokemon. Likewise, when Metang mature, they will gather in swarms from the waves they emit and fuse together to make Metagross._

_Metagross are one of the most intelligent beings on this planet with its complex neural network between its four brains. In the late Arcea, they were used as transportation by the psychic civilians. A great irony with Metagross in the past was how some of the popular Champions of the time used them to fly around._

_-The Fundamentals of The Walking Steel by E.G. Perry  
_*~*

A few days of travel passed since I ran away from the Ruins of Alph. My eyes were heavy and my back slouched from my weariness. Shinx and June were worse off. Both of them were skinny from hunger. The electricity from Shinx's fur would only be tiny sparks. June stopped using her fire completely and would stumble over her feet from fatigue.

When we crossed the Union Overpass, we came across several trainers battling one another. Some were on their large flying Pokémon while throwing their other Pokémon down on the bridge to fight. Beneath the overpass, on top of the union caves, people dueled as well. Extremely large Pokémon were grappling with each other, particularly two Onix. This was the first time I'd ever seen the colossal rock snakes in real life. Because they were so far below the bridge, they were scaled down to being the size of my finger. However, they were next to full grown trees, casting shadows on some of them. A small anxious part of me wanted to find my way down there to watch the Onix fight.

Being so huge, looking at them made me wonder if I'd ever have Pokémon that large and intimidating. What kind of trainer did it take to control such a Pokémon? Could you honestly catch something like that in the wild? Onix had to be one dangerous Pokémon. But it seemed like any Pokémon could be dangerous. June could set fire to anything and Shinx had a sadistic tendency to chase down other Pokémon and shock them, which was fortunately going away.

Both Pokémon were maturing. June took to walking by my side because she got annoyed how my shoulder would slack from her weight. From the battles she had, June had gotten taller by a few inches. She was now past my knee. Shinx became more obedient. Every time he'd chase something, I could tell him to stop once and he'd stop. The light blue on his fur had a few dark spots and his forelegs had a yellow patch of hairless skin coming in above his electricity sacks.

Taking out my PokéDex to look up their information, I saw that June would become a Pokémon called a Combusken, a fighting and fire type Pokémon with yellow feathers on the upper torso and dark orange ones on the lower. Combusken had defined arms. June's wings were become longer and the feathers were becoming finer with yellow splashes that spread all the way to her chest and back. Shinx was becoming a Luxio, which looked like a darker Shinx with an extra pair of electric sacs. After becoming a Luxio, Shinx would be a Luxray, which looked like a taller Luxio with dark hair jutting out of its head and crimson eyes.

In that case, Shinx couldn't be still called Shinx when it was completely a Luxio. The names had that 'x' thing going on. So any name for him would definitely need the letter. June was named after the month my journey started, when I received her from Gavin. Shinx was the first Pokémon I'd caught. And he was such an annoying thing when he wanted to be, yet he always pulled through. He listened to me and worked with June really well. And Shinx was always shocking something.

The word 'Shock.' The letter X. Both came together to make Shox. Shox was given his name right there on the Union Overpass. He took to it very fast. Every time I'd say his name, Shox would look up at me to see what was up.

When we finally got off the Overpass, it was a straight walk to Azalea Town. The only thing that kept me going was my desire to get the second badge. My legs felt like they would give out any second with every step on the concrete. My stomach painfully churned in its emptiness and my mouth was parched to the point where I breathed with my mouth open to catch moisture from the air. My Pokémon were in their PokéBalls. They were already tired and they didn't need to endure this.

The forests around me moved back into the background. Now farmlands were on either side of the road I walked. Herds of Miltank were idling around, munching on the prairie grass and milking their young. They were kept separate from the other fields with wheat growing. Giant red tractors were driven across the crops. Prickly-backed Sandslash were crossing the road with their infant bare-backed Sandshrew at their tail and small Doduo sprinted across from field to field, keeping both heads straight to keep balance and their beaks open to catch small insects. Few vehicles were going to or coming from Azalea. When I finally reached the town limits, it made sense why.

Little was in the town. The forest of trees that were at the edges of the road before returned to make an even larger forest on the other side of town. The town itself was pretty empty, similar to Cherrygrove. The streets were gravel and the sidewalks from the highways turned to simple grass. The buildings were small and made out of unpainted wood. Azalea town was the opposite of Violet City with its lack of hustle and bustle and overall laziness.

However, everything had an uneasy feel to it rather than having the relaxed air the town looked like it should've had. It first hit me when I was dragging my feet through the streets, looking for somewhere to rest. Outside of markets and homes, people were gathered in groups gossiping with one another, especially the women. This would've been a fairly normal thing to see, but they were all talking about the same thing.

"What's he gonna do about the well?"

"They're dangerous. How the hell did they get back in the well? I thought they were killed off."

"They gotta be stopped."

"This town's probably cursed or something. First a kidnapping, and now this well business."

"There's no proof of the kidnapping. Quit talking about that."

Something had made this quiet town noisy with news, and that annoyingly curious part of me wanted to know what was going on. However, I kept to myself and avoided running up to people to ask them about the town. People ignored me for the most part, but few gave me looks that told me trainers rarely ever came through Azalea Town. If it wasn't for there being a Pokémon Gym in town that I happened to luckily find, I'd think that I was the only trainer in Azalea. Other than a Miltank being pulled through town by a rope, there were no Pokémon.

The gym was smaller than the one in Violet City, but it was still shaped like a dome with glass doors (that had to be pushed open this time). I went in and found myself peering straight into a forest. For a moment, I thought I was outside. The antechamber was normal with doors on both sides that most likely led to offices and other rooms. The main room was a large forest with trees that reached the ceiling. The building was windowless, but light was provided by huge hanging fluorescent bulbs that rubbed against the foliage at the top. A few winged bug Pokémon flew around the lights. In front of me was a dirt path that led to a wide clearing with sparse trees in the center of the gym. Following it, I found myself going down a slope into the center of a large grassy Pokémon Stadium. The lines were made from white paint. A few trees stood in the Stadium, but they weren't as large as the trees that populated the rest of the gym. The bleachers were, as expected, were cut logs assorted to the side, climbing up the slope. The two Trainer Blocks across from each other were simple steel structures with ladders at the side. Something told me the gym didn't make a lot of money.

Even though they were feint, voices of trainers commanding Pokémon reached my ears. They were probably in the indoor woods because the Stadium was empty for the most part. Two men were sitting in the corner bleachers. One was silent while listening to the other talk constantly. He was a strange looking man with a green pointed Mohawk and shirtless with camouflage pants. His face was glazed over as he listened to the other man. The talking, bespectacled man was dressed like an important figure. He wore a dark blue vest with matching slacks, topped off with a yellow tie on his white dress shirt. His black shoes reflected the light from above, as well as a strange, large brooch on his chest. This man's brown hair was perfectly brushed and combed, coming up at the right. He looked like the smart type. The silent, weirdly dressed man saw me and shot up. The talking man abruptly cut himself off.

"Ah! A trainer!" he exclaimed in a soft voice. He was somewhat frightening to see, and his attitude didn't fit him at all. As he came closer, many small circular scars speckled his chest became visible. "Welcome to the Azalea Town Gym! I'm the Gym Leader, Jim. Who're you and we're you from, man? Looks like you got into some tough times with that vest."

My vest hadn't been cleaned since Anne's Arbok bled on me.

"I'm Ed and I'm a trainer from New Bark, out East," I said with caution. Jim didn't look or have that official demeanor. He may as well have been joking with me. The other guy fit the role better.

"New Bark, you say? That's where Professor Willow lives," pointed out the man on the bleachers. Jim glanced annoyingly away from me at the sound of the man's voice. "There's been a shortage of Johto starters for a few months now. Are you a new trainer?"

"I have one badge," I said honestly.

"One badge? Good job," praised the man. He got up to join Jim and me. "Sounds like you're attempting the Johto Pokémon League Challenge. What did you start off with?"

I assumed he was talking about Pokémon, though his words were vague. "A Torchic."

Jim grinned away from the man, enjoying my terseness. "Sweet."

The man pulled out a cloth from his pocket and removed his glasses to wipe the lenses. His eyes were nearly black from being so dark brown. "Interesting choice. You received a Hoenn starter. At least something's working right around here at least. Have you run into any trainers with other Hoenn starters? Kanto? Sinnoh?"

Rob and Alice, but Rob wasn't a new trainer. "A Squirtle."

"A Squirtle. And I'm guessing every other trainer you saw had some random Pokémon with them. No other Torchic? No Treecko? Mudkip? Piplup? Bulbasaur?" interrogated the man. His tone was annoyingly rude, and I had no idea what the other four Pokémon he mentioned were.

"No. Why?" I asked. It was my turn to question. My body was too tired to stand the man's nonsense.  
The man pulled on his shiny multicolored brooch to put emphasis on it. The shape of it was peculiar, yet grand – a Poké Ball that was colored to look like Earth. A pair of wings was spread out from the Poké Balls sides. All of this was encompassed in a golden badge with the man's distinction at the bottom.  
Alfred Hamilton

42nd Hoenn Pokémon League Champion  
Ever Grande City University Alumni  
Class of the 93rd Cycle, 92  
MKH

"You must not be into the news much, huh? I'm Alfred Hamilton. Johto Champion. I just wanted to know if the Pokémon League's plan is working. Team Zero decided it was our turn to suffer."  
An actual Champion was standing in front of me. A smug one. Was he supposed to be impressive? Was I supposed to be excited or something? I wasn't. If anything, an irrational anger rose in me. My heart wanted to blame Alfred for the entire Amber Act.

"Well anyway," continued Alfred, "Jim's under review and I'm not allowing him to take up Gym Leader responsibilities until I'm done with Azalea Town. So you'll be actually fighting me for the Hive Badge."

He was a Champion. I was a kid who had a hard time taking down a Gym Leader's Pidgey even when the leader felt sorry for me. Fighting him made it sound like I'd never collect all the badges I needed. Jim saw my disbelief.

"Oh don't worry," relieved Jim, "even though he's a Champion, he'll still follow the Gym Leader guidelines. You have one badge so he'll battle you like a Gym Leader is supposed to."

"What? You mean focus only on one aspect of battling? That's such an outdated method," groaned Alfred, "Hell, most Champions don't even care if Gym Leaders enforce it. Ed, you're just going to battle straight up. You give me all you got and win, you get the badge. That's all there is to it. That's how it's supposed to be," said Alfred.

Jim fell silent. Felicity told me she was going to show me a sample of how the second gym battle I'd have would be like. What was Alfred going to do exactly? With a perspective like that, it seemed like he could do anything.

"And as for difficulty," said Alfred, gesturing his brooch again, "I graduated from Ever Grande Champion University. I'll be able to test your training ability effectively. However, it'll have to be a week from now. There's something else I have to focus on first."

He spoke to Jim. "I'll be right back. I'm going to report to HQ. Find a place where this trainer can spend some nights," he ordered. He pulled out a slender earpiece from his pocket and placed it on his ear, then started talking. Jim and I watched him walk off into another part of the Gym.

"Asshole," muttered Jim. His contempt over his superior burned. Alfred was pompous, but he irritated Jim far more than he did me.

"Yeah," I replied quietly. "I'm not looking forward to fighting him at all. A Champion? How am I supposed to get eight badges by fighting a Champion?" The prospect of me winning seemed low. Very low. I recalled Rob having a grudge against them. After meeting Alfred, it seemed justified.

"Don't worry," said Jim. He looked over at Alfred who was still talking on his communicator. "He 'graduated from Ever Grande Champion University'. I'm sure he'll be the perfect Gym Leader," sarcastically said Jim.

I took a liking to Jim automatically after that. "So you know where can I stay? My Pokémon need rest and I'm beat."

Jim walked me out of his Gym. He was forlorn at the idea that his Gym wasn't under his control, so while we were outside, he stopped to look up at the building. He complained at how bogus it was that he was pretty much laid off his job temporarily. He told me that Alfred was stationed in Indigo Plateau, but immediately came here after word got out about something strange going on. As we talked, we walked to the western part of town, and started to climb a hill up to his home. Because I was 'good company', he treated me to dinner at his house. His wife, Chloe, was just as odd looking as him with short pink hair, a nose ring, and a strangely plain faded pink smock.

Jim bringing me to his house was odd enough, making me cautious for a bit. He and his wife stuck out like sore thumbs when compared to everyone else in town, yet their twin baby children, Jonas and Liz, looked completely normal with brown hair as they crawled around the gravel at the front of the unpainted house. The strangest thing was how old Jim and Chloe were. Jim told me he was seventeen. Same as Rob. Chloe was a year younger than him, and their children barely looked a year old.

"I became a trainer when I was twelve," explained Jim. We were sitting on his porch. His house was overlooking on a hill at the western edge of the town. The unpainted house was a simple two story abode, adding to the rustic aura of Azalea Town. Considering the size of his house and location compared to the other houses below, Jim and his family seemed to be better off than the rest of the people. Jonas and Liz were in his arms and bobbed up and down on his knees, giggling. June and Shox were at my feet eating several apples Jim gave them.

"I was born and raised here, and a Pokémon Lab in neighboring town sent me a Chikorita, the Johto grass starter. I was pretty pissed off, but I took it all in stride. There was a Gym in town, run the guy who'd end up being my mentor after I got eight badges, Bud. I fought him with the Chikorita and got destroyed since the gym here uses bug type Pokémon and grass types are weak to bugs. So I went into the Ilex Forest behind my house here and caught five Spinarak."

"Did you win?" I asked, interested in his story. It sounded like he was forced to be a trainer also, but took it better than me. Jonas reached out for me to grab him. Jim handed me his son, freeing an arm so he could throw Liz into the air.

"Yeah. And it wasn't even overkill either. Nearly all six of my Pokémon were defeated by Bud's two Pokémon, a damn Caterpie and a Weedle. The last Pokémon standing of mine was a Spinarak. The little thing was so beat up after the fight," he paused, then chuckled, "I put the rest of the Spinarak in my box and set out to Goldenrod City with that one Spinarak and Chikorita. I won battles and lost a lot more, but I got my badges. My team changed too. I ended up putting the Chikorita away and just stuck with Bug Pokémon. The Pokémon I kept grew with me and I saw them change. My Spinarak turned into a huge fat Ariados and she's always at my side to this day."

He pulled a Poké Ball out of his pocket and showed it to me. As he was about to throw it out, he stopped himself.

"Are you afraid of bugs?" he asked innocently. I shook my head. Me and Gavin would go out into the woods near home and pull Pineco out of low trees.

He tossed the ball onto the gravel below the steps. I nearly jumped out of my skin seeing the colossal red bug scatter around the yard. Its yellow legs were incredibly thin compared to its hulking red abdomen. Its black beady eyes were motionless. June immediately dropped her apples and grabbed onto my leg, glaring at the bug Pokemon maliciously. Shox chased out of curiosity after it with an apple in his mouth.

"I think the Poké Ball keeps her too tight," said Jim. "Every time I let her out, she has to run around a bit. She's the only Pokémon I keep on me unless I'm doing Gym Leader duties."

Just like how Rob only kept his Charizard, except Rob wasn't a Gym Leader. Rob also had that Umbreon. What other Pokémon did Rob have? And where was he? For the first time in a few days, I was questioning why Rob didn't come to Azalea like he said he would. Thinking of this reminded me of what Alfred said about Team Zero doing something to Johto.

"What was Alfred talking about back in the Gym? About Johto starters and Team Zero?" I asked.

"Yeah, Team Zero's on it," said Jim, letting Liz crawl on the porch. Jonas pulled on my bottom lip. "Their plan, I think, was to prevent kids from becoming trainers. Without starters, you can't be a trainer. But the Pokémon League had other Labs in other regions export some of their starters over, and had Johto Labs give out alternate starter Pokémon," he explained.

June remained attached to my leg, cautiously watching the Ariados. Shox ran circles around the giant red bug, making Liz clap her hands and laugh. The Ariados continued to slowly walk around the yard, making sure the baby on her back didn't fall. My mind tried to register what he said.

"Well, that does make sense. A trainer trains Pokemon. Can't be a trainer without a Pokemon," I deduced.

"Yep," confirmed Jim. "The lab will either give you one or you just have one, probably like a pet or something. Something tame. They consider the regional starters like your Torchic to be easily raised. Labs do their research and stuff, but they rarely ever go out to catch and raise other Pokemon to be starters since the League often has enough to go around regional starters."

"And then Team Zero took advantage of that," I finished for him. With Zero Balls, I guessed anyone could pull off stealing a bunch of Pokemon. For a bunch of kids, apparently, it was impressive.

"Exactly," said Jim. "But the League's been on it. They've forced some labs to go out and catch wild Pokémon and breed tame enough starters. My friend's younger brother was given a male Nidoran," he said. He smirked. "Those things are normally dangerous, but I was there when he got it. The little long-eared thing took a liking to him. His girlfriend got an Ekans."

Darius and Anne, I guessed. He and Ned said that they were from Azalea and hated the town. That must've meant that Team Zero themselves must've been here recently. Then there were the conversations I came across when I first entered the town. Something about kidnappings. Jim seemed like the guy to talk to about it. My curiosity was getting the better of me. Jim's Ariados went around the side of the porch. Liz crawled on top of it and the bug carefully trotted around the front yard. She was cheering in delight. Perhaps the three were the ones who were kidnapped.

"That sounds like a girl I ran into on the way here. She was with her younger brother and her boyfriend. She had an Arbok that attacked me. That Arbok's the reason why my clothes are so dirty," I said, pointing to the bloodstains.

Jim was staggered. "Yeah, she raised it to an Arbok before she left. She attacked you?" He mentioned anything but kidnapping. Wrong people then.

I explained the incident, leaving out how they were inductees to Team Zero. My story involved them camping at the Ruins of Alph and heading to Violet City to get a gym badge.

"They never came by my Gym," noted Jim.

"They said they wanted to save their hometown for last. You know, a full circle," I lied. Jim pondered, scratching his head.

"Chloe did the same thing," he said. "It would've been easier for Anne to fight me. She had the type advantage anyway, but whatever."

By coincidence, Chloe came out of the house and said dinner was ready. Jim returned his Ariados to her Poké Ball. Following manners, I returned June and Shox into theirs and we gathered up the kids. The inside of their home was very clean and orderly compared to the outside of the house. Jim sat the kids in the two high chairs next to the table and took a seat himself. When Chloe came out with actual food, my mouth started to drool at the sight of it. Baked Pidgey with mashed potatoes and corn at the side. I devoured it. The kids laughed at me. Chloe was annoyed, but didn't say anything. I guessed she liked how I enjoyed her cooking. Jim went into the kitchen to get another plate. While he was gone, Chloe started up a conversation with me.

"We haven't had a chance to talk much. In case you've forgotten already, I'm Chloe," she joked in a polite tone. Like Jim, her looks and her attitude were completely different. "Jim cooks way better than me. Tomorrow, it'll be my turn to look after the kids and his turn to make dinner."

For someone as young as she was, she was perfectly fine being a wife and a mother. She told me she was originally from Hearthrone City in Sinnoh, and her family moved to Olivine when she was a little girl. When she became eleven, she was forced to become a trainer and her older brother stayed with her until she won four. Then she met up with Jim, and they traveled together and got their remaining badges. Knowing the two of them swelled me with hope. Rob had eight badges, but he was just one person. Jim and Chloe were new people. Getting eight badges wasn't impossible.

When Jim returned to the table, Chloe addressed him. "Did you talk to Ed about staying here until he leaves?" she asked.

She wanted me to stay? That was awfully nice of her, but her face had gone from cheerfully rosy to serious and stern.

"You wouldn't mind?" he asked her quietly. "I was going to talk to you about it."

She blinked rapidly, startled. "Of course he can stay! Definitely! This town's not safe anymore. He's a new trainer so he can stay here. He can't fend for himself good yet. I don't know what I'd do if he were kidnapped too."

"Kidnapped? I heard someone talking about that," I stated.

"Yeah, a trainer was staying at the local inn two and a half weeks ago was kidnapped," answered Chloe, "then one night, Meryl, the innkeeper, went to check on her because her stay was up." Chloe's eyes became wide. "She was gone. Her room was a complete mess with things turned over and the window was wide open."

"She probably skipped out on her bill," piped Jim. "We used to do that all the time, Chloe."  
She shot him a dark glance. "You didn't meet her. It was my week to be the Gym Leader. She scheduled to fight me. She was so determined to. Then a few days after that, she's gone. I doubt she would've left without fighting me first."

"Is that why Alfred the Champion's here?" I asked. Jim scoffed.

"I wish! I'd definitely have more respect for him if he was. I don't think he gives a damn about other trainers. All he sees are other Champions and how things work out easily for them," said Jim indignantly.  
"The Champion's here to investigate the Slowpoke Well on the north side of town. He's been on us because it's technically 'our responsibility'," Chloe mocked.

Jim chuckled. "Yeah. Some Slowpoke started popping up in the cave. Someone saw one and called the cops, and they brought in the Champions. Alfred came floating in on that steel Metang. And here we are." He stared down at his full second plate. His brow furrowed. He slammed his hands against the table. Then again. His kids jumped. Jonas began to whimper. Chloe got up to comfort their child, but Jim lightly grabbed her wrist.

"I'm sorry," he said in a hushed, pitiful tone. "I'm going to bed and I'll put them in theirs. It's past their bedtime." She sat back down and he picked up both kids in his arms. "Alright Ed, good night. If you're up early enough tomorrow, we can train together." With that, he went upstairs. On the way up, the two kids waved down at me. I lifted a single hand and waved awkwardly.

"He's stressed out," Chloe apologized to me. "Not a lot of trainers come by Azalea. They're our main source of money. The Pokémon League pays for the Gym to be maintained, but that's about it," she said in a soft tone. When she started cleaning the table, I helped out to show good manners. While we were washing dishes, she explained how Jim's parents owned the house and gave it to him before they passed away due to sickness. They had little money, and Jim had an arrogant string to him, keeping him from wanting to move somewhere else. Azalea Town was simply a place without Pokémon Trainers.

"And here I am bothering you with all our problems," lamented Chloe. She was on the steps ready to head to bed. We had just finished pulling out the bed out the couch in the living room. The pillows were in my arms.

"It's no problem," I said with a smile, which sunk slowly. "It sure is something when you're thrown out of your home and you meet new people. Everyone's got their share of problems. Sometimes you got to talk about them." A part of me started to get irritated by Rob's absence.

"Ain't that the truth. I'm out Ed. Good night," she said. She climbed up a few stairs, and then turned around. "Oh yeah, put your clothes in the pile in the basement. I'll wash them with the rest. The door's under the stairs."

"Oh OK! Thanks!" I said. She nodded and went upstairs for the final time. I went into the living room and plopped myself on the bed. All of the lights were off except for mine. I had a full stomach, a comfy enough bed, and my Pokémon were resting in the Pokémon Center. Things were looking up. And even if Rob was gone, things were going well alone. He said he'd stick with me until whatever happened in Ecruteak.

Ecruteak was an important stage for all of what was going on. Team Zero was supposedly heading there. Champions too. Rob's brother was a Champion, so perhaps Rob was helping him out with a stakeout or something. So why did Rob have that Umbreon out all of a sudden? Damn that thing was scary. He had his own business to look after. Jim and Chloe were accomplished trainers and they had a family, so Rob probably had to meet with his brother simply for something very important. Family matters after all. Except mine, I thought. This made me notice the room I was in had a small TV set in the corner, standing on a small wire-frame table. On top of it was a single picture of the family in a frame. Getting up for a closer look and grabbing the picture, Jim and Chloe were in the hospital. Chloe was in the bed holding one bundle of yellow blankets. Jim was sitting next to her holding another. Chloe had a pink Mohawk while Jim had green braids.

Then I remembered that Chloe said she'd wash my clothes. Stripping down to my underwear, I carried my clothes to the basement door. I pushed it open, and the door let out an eerie loud creak. Then the creak increased into a sharp, painful screech in my head. I put a finger to shake the inside of my ear; my eardrums were ringing. The pain reached the corners of my eyes, numbing them slightly.

Shaking the feeling away, I flipped the switch, and the darkness revealed a concrete staircase leading into a small basement which looked awfully familiar.

A shelf filled with boxes of old belongings was next to the stairs. I climbed down and read off the boxes. My box had my first baseball glove and various clothes I grew out of. Gavin had two boxes of old Pokémon children's books, action figures, and clothes. Dad's toolbox was on a table in the center of the room. The washing machine and dryer were behind the table.

I had entered my own basement back in New Bark. My clothes fell to the cold hard floor.

Loud footsteps were going down the stairs above the basement entrance. I turned around to look up at the door.

Alice was peering down at me through the corner of the door. Her once golden hair was mangy, and specked with grass, dirt, and leaves, hanging down as she held herself on the edge of the door. Only her head and part of her mouth was visible. Her blue eyes had faded and a strand of blood seeped from her forehead to her cheek.

The words could barely leave my mouth. "A-Alice?"

I made to run up the stairs. Alice dashed away, in a swift blurry trail of white as if she was wearing a plain gown. Getting to the door, I heard the front door close. I ran to it and yanked it open.

There was no telling how late it was, nor was it the main thing on my mind. A small bouncing light bobbed up and down the bottom of the hill, a flashlight being held by a dark coated figure, making its way into town.

Before blindly running, I confirmed the situation. Alice was in the house. Yet I was in my basement? Was I dreaming? The warm air from the doorway felt real enough, and something told me whoever it was running to town was Alice. That strange moment and hearing the person climb down the stairs had something in common. Alice was wearing white and the person was clad in dark.

I pinched myself. It hurt.

I had finally saw Alice.

My feet took me as fast as they could through the darkness, the bottoms cutting against the hard, loose gravel. The town was empty and the only lights in town were from porch lights and the one from the figure's flashlight. Whoever it was, they were fast. They didn't seem to notice me either. If anything, they were in urgency.

The chase took me to the western part of town, near the entrance, and into the woods on a small dirt path. My running turned into a brisk walk from fatigue. The person with the flashlight had enough energy to run all the way through the path. The path winded upward. My hands gathered splinters from having to squeeze through old large wooden Xs that were nailed in between trees.

The path ended in a clearing surrounded by a chain-link fence with a concrete enclosure in the center, large enough for a few people to stand in. Was it a tomb? The light was in the darkness of the entrance, and then jumped a final time into the bottom, as if a hole was in the ground. I went through the single open gate.

Then there was a bloodthirsty curdling screech coming from behind me. A blade's edge went across my back, knocking me onto my stomach. My arms pushed me into a roll. My eyes caught side of an arched translucent blade with blood on its tip. My blood. The blade was connected to an arm. The arm belonged to a tall beast that was the same dark color as the trees of the night. The beast's eyes glowed maliciously from the reflection of the moonlight. Its head was almost reptilian, with its snout and fangs, but seemed like a helmet.

I tried to get up. The beast brought its other bladed arm around and backhanded me to the ground. It put a large clawed foot on my chest, holding me down with its strength. The beast raised both its bladed arms into the night sky, and gave a victorious screech.

Then, the blades fell.

_//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////_

_Ugh, cliffhangers. The best thing is that this is the worst cliffhanger in the story so far. Just stay with me!_

_Read and review._


	10. Chapter X: Dialgarice

////////////////////////////////Author's Note////////////////

Here's Chapter 10. When I wrote this, I was getting the harder details of the plot sorted out. By the end of it, I figured out many things.

Read and review! :D

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Chapter X: Dialgarice

_  
Traditionally, Pokemon Trainer battles consist of two trainers going against each other with one Pokemon out at a time. The two Pokemon duel each other, with the trainers switching out their Pokemon when needed. The battle is decided when one trainer gives up or runs out of usable Pokemon._

_This form of Pokemon battling has roots all the way from when people in the Medieval times started taming them for knights and guards. Competitions used to be held in the Japinae Kingdom where Royal Knights would literally enter the ring with their Pokemon bound to Domini chains. Back then, the battles didn't just end when a knight was out of Pokemon, but when one was dead. Knights would arm themselves with swords, but they weren't allowed to draw them until they were out of usable Pokemon. Sir Harriville Teach of the Japinae Kingdom is known for entering battle with one Pokemon and having it killed, only to use his blade to kill off his opponent's six Pokemon._

_These olden battles are now illegal, but are dramatized in several Saffron and Hearthrone plays._

_They were called Duels of the Brothers._

_~*~*_

My arms shot forward in a pitiful attempt to defend myself. The blades glimmered in the moonlight as they slashed downward. The creature's clawed foot dug into my skin as it pressed down on my stomach.

My eyes closed shut as all my nerves tensed, expecting getting slashed to bits. In whatever state of mind I was in, I was sure I was going to die. The beast gurgled out a screech that was enough to tell me it wanted to kill.

No impact.

Through my closed eyelids, I saw light. I hesitantly cracked open an eye.

The green creature was enveloped in a Poké Ball's returning laser. The beam came at an angle from inside the concrete structure, penetrating its darkness, getting close to the ground. Through the red glare, the top half Jim was panting under a hood. A part of me expected him to walk over to me using his arms.

"Ed? That you?" shouted Jim, pulling himself out the ground once the Pokémon was back in its ball. "The hell are you doin' here?" He came closer and saw my injuries. "Ah fuck, you're hurt." He knelt close to me.

The pain from the burning of the scratch on my back and the minor gashes on my stomach was real enough for me. "I'm fine," I uttered, sitting up on the grass. "You called your Pokémon back at the right moment," I joked sourly.

Jim ignored my humor. He spoke in a rushed tone. "My Scyther guards the well. He's supposed to keep out everyone except me and Alfred."

He pulled me up to my feet. "Sorry for the noise coming down the stairs. I must've woke you up. I was running out the house like a thief, I know. Go on back to the house. I'll be back soon."

His words and hurried attitude irked me. Alice was nowhere around. My head sunk in disbelief and anger. She had been a complete mess, bleeding. Did I lose her? Or was she never there in the first place?

"A girl I know was in your house," I started, but I stopped myself from continuing from how absurd I would've sounded. His basement had looked just like mine. And Alice was acting strange too, staring down at me like she did. The whole thing was weird.

"I see," uttered Jim. He looked back at the entrance to the well, then back at me.

My back hunched over, I stared at the grass in hopelessness. The blades could've started singing to me at any moment and I wouldn't have been surprised at all. What was going on?

"I think I'm delirious," I murmured. "I've been tired for a while now. I believe something at the Ruins of Alph got to me. Those Unown messed with my head I think."

"Oh yeah, that's right!" Recalled Jim. "You did say you saw a swarm of them." He looked away from me and nodded to himself a few times in thought. He put a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"What else did you see?" he asked solemnly.

He understood? His interest made me continue. "I went down into your basement. Chloe said that I could put my clothes in the washing machine." My voice fell. "The basement looked exactly like mine at home. Toys, tools, clothes…" The words trailed off. "And then I saw a girl I knew. She was hiding behind the edge of the doorway looking down at me. She was beat up. And had grass and leaves in all in her hair. She was wearing a white gown I think."

Jim rubbed his chin. His eyes were dark in the night, but they glinted with secretive knowledge.

"Listen, just go back to the house and rest up. It won't happen again. I'll explain it when the sun's up." Jim gave a comforting grin. "I'll tell you about it when we're training your Pokémon."

He gave me a pat on the back, sending me on my way. "And make sure you have some clothes on when there's light. This town's already riled up. The people don't need to think there's a kid running around in underwear thinking he's crazy."

His joke managed to relieve some of the stress, but a nice rest would get rid of it completely.

"You're sure your back doesn't hurt?" He asked again. "It's bleeding."

My hand reached over and rubbed the scratch. Either it had bled out enough or there wasn't much blood to begin with at all. The only hard pain felt from the scratch was when the Scyther had just gone across my back with its blade.

"I'm fine. I'll look at it when I get back," I replied. Jim made sense. The second badge was the most important thing. Alfred said he'd give me a week before the fight, and my Pokémon needed training for sure, and having a Gym Leader help out sounded like a godsend. June and Shox needed to learn how to avoid attacks better. And I planned on catching them a new partner.

Before leaving, I waved back at Jim who went back into the structure, and saw he was already climbing down the hole in the ground. What was in it? It was too late at night, so why would Jim even be out here, going down a hole? He said he'd explain it, so something made sense to him. Things definitely didn't for me, especially with seeing Alice. She looked horrible and banged up, almost dead, staring down at me from the top of the stairs. Then the basement being the one I remember from back home was even stranger.

Yet, the fact that Jim's Scyther was about to kill me didn't faze me much. After the Skarmory and Arbok, was I really getting used to being in danger?

I made my way back through the empty town. Fortunately, the streets were empty save for a few stray Skitty going across my way. When Jim's house came into view, I saw that I had left the door carelessly open. I stepped inside the house and shut the door as Jim had done.

"Did you leave the front door open?" said Chloe in a hoarse, maleficent voice. I snapped around and saw her standing at the top of the stairs wearing a bedroom robe, glaring down at me with a combination of pure spite and worry through the dark.

My mouth opened to explain some more, but I found my mind trying to make up something. My instinct kicked in and told me to wait to see what happens to learn more. "Yeah. It was a mistake. I'm sorry." I answered hurriedly.

"I don't mind you staying in my house, but you do something like that again and I'll throw you out. You could've put my family in danger. You understand?" she asked flatly.

I nodded.

"Do you?"

Did my dad die and his ghost possess Chloe? She was doing a great job at being him. She was right, however. Anyone could've just walked in the house.

"Yeah, I understand," I muttered.

"Jim'll be back. He's in no trouble," she said in a softened tone. "Sooner or later, he won't have to be going back and forth at night."

I remained silent. Her words intrigued me, but I was too intimidated to talk. She felt dominating as a fully grown adult is toward a child, yet she was barely older than me. Perhaps it was that she was a mother.

"Go on to sleep," she ended tersely, "I'll see you in the morning." She went back into her room, closing the door gently. I went to the bathroom and cleaned up the scratch on my back, then returned to the living room to sleep.

*~*

The Scyther leapt from the foliage above. Its wings glittered in the sunlight as it used them to jet toward Jim, emitting an audible buzz. As it approached, the Scyther kept its blades close to its abdomen, its mouth anxiously open. Jim took me back to the concrete structure.

The bug halted in front of Jim, looking up at him and ignoring me completely. He petted it approvingly on its head. The Pokémon stood upright, reaching my neck. Despite how shorter it was compared to me, looking at the blades were enough to keep me a good distance away from it.

"You honestly should try to catch a Scyther if you can, Ed," said Jim, rubbing the Scyther's spurs on its head. The Scyther cocked its head over in comfort. "It's summer and baby Scyther are all over the forest. You aught'a get one before they're caught or hunted down. Scyther are some of the most feared Pokémon out there, simply because they just look dangerous."

Jim pulled the Scyther's face closer to mine. "Just look at him. Behind that mean mug, he's kinder than an Eevee!"

The Scyther stared at me with one large human-like eye and snarled at me. I looked away.

"I'll just take your word for it," I muttered, pulling out June and Shox's Poké Ball, letting them out. Upon seeing the Scyther, June immediately stood between me and the bug and Shox sat in front of it, watching it with curiosity.

"I don't know what kind of Pokémon Alfred uses," said Jim, "but Champions, believe it or not, aren't exactly the best trainers in principle. They all tend to focus more on Pokémon they consider 'the best of the best.'"

Jim let his Scyther go, and it walked about the clearing in front of the structure looking at its surroundings. Shox kept at its feet. June still had her guard raised, holding her orange and yellow arms up.

"Champions love Scyther, just so they can evolve it. Take your PokéDex out and scan my Scyther. You're gonna learn a few things today," Jim smugly said.

I did as I was told.

"Scyther is blindingly fast. Its blazing speed enhances the effectiveness of the twin scythes on its forearms. This Pokémon's scythes are so effective they can slice through thick logs in one wicked stroke," explained the Dex.

"Check out its evolution," said Jim. I navigated to the Scyther Evolution Branch. Only pictures of two Pokémon were on the page: Scyther and a dark red Pokémon with flaming yellow eyes glaring intensely at me through the monitor. The name 'Scizor' was underneath. I clicked it.

"A Scizor has a body with the hardness of steel. It is not easily fazed by ordinary sorts of attacks. It flaps its wings to regulate its body temperature."

The Scizor had a robotic, artificial look about it. From the data on the bottom screen, they could grow up to six feet and the Scyther's arms would become pincers with joints that looked like screws or yellow eyes.

"Scizor are extremely rare Pokémon," said Jim after a patient silence. "The only way a Scyther can evolve into a Scizor is if their body is completely covered with a certain metallic chemical for two months. If you ever run into a wild Scizor, chances are the Pokémon's been in that form for its entire life. When Scyther are still larvae, they bury themselves underground. Few larvae end up digging themselves into a metallic deposit underground and mature into Scizor."

The information sunk in my head. He was teaching me about evolution. Jim probably noticed how my Pokémon were in limbo between stages.

"Do you have a Scizor?" I asked.

Jim nodded. "A naturally evolved Scizor I keep in my Box for high-tier gym battles. Raised her from when she was a scrawny baby, and now she's not six, but seven feet tall!"

He seemed in a daze over his own accomplishments, and then shook his head out of it.

"What I'm getting at is that not all Pokémon evolve over time with experience," he said. "Some Pokémon will never evolve unless they're brought in contact with something. With Scyther, it has to be covered with a metal coating for some time. Your two Pokémon are on their way into their next forms simply because they've gained experience, which is natural also obviously."

"Scan your own Pokémon," ordered Jim.

I did so, and the word ERROR scrolled across the top screen with an explanation at the bottom. I read it aloud since the Dex's voice was absent.

"The selected subject shares traits with the following Pokémon. Torchic. Combusken. Would I like to synchronize PokéDex entries? Yes. No." I looked up at Jim for an answer.

"You can if you want," he replied. "You do that and every time you scan a Pokémon that's in the process of evolving, it'll just refer to it as the previous evolution. Really, your Torchic is still a Torchic until it's fully a Combusken. You can leave your PokéDex entries not synchronized. That way, when your Pokémon is actually a Combusken, the PokéDex won't go into an error screen. It'll outright read your Pokémon as a Combusken."

I selected No and closed the PokéDex.

"After we're done training, I'll take you into the Slowpoke Well. Slowpoke evolve with a weird, but awesome method," explained Jim. "And now that I'm done rambling, how about your Pokémon fool around with my Scyther for today? It'll get them agile."

Jim's idea of fooling around was to have his Scyther go all out on my Pokémon. He didn't mind that both of them were out, he said his Scyther could handle the two. The sight was impressive and frightening, with Scyther charging my Pokémon and slashing about. June and Shox kept on their toes and paws for dear life. I made to return them and stop the scene, but Jim held me back by grabbing my arm.

"If you're going to get eight badges, then your Pokémon are going to go through far more dangerous things. If you don't let them handle situations, then you decide to be a trainer for the rest of your life," he said solemnly.

I couldn't respond. His words had hit me hard. My heart was weak from watching my Pokémon run in fear from the ferocious Scyther. June narrowly dived away from a sweep of the scythe, weeping slightly. Her arms were ablaze as she retaliated, punching and scratching. The Scyther was far more skilled however, changing his target to Shox and dodging all of June's attacks. The Scyther's body would literally twist in the air just to avoid the licks of flame. Using a combination of the brief airtime its wings gave him and its natural agility with its large legs, the Scyther was an elegant force to be reckoned with. Shox attempted to use his electricity on the Scyther, but the bug prevented Shox from focusing on attacking.

My heart sunk from watching the three Pokémon. The sight was too cruel and climatic.

"When I was still a trainer traveling around Johto," said Jim in a soft tone, "some dumbass hicks saw my Scizor and decided to shoot at her."

I snapped my head up at him. "They shot your Pokémon?" I asked naively. Then I felt like I said something childish. The first thing anyone would do against a Pokémon that looked like a Scizor would be to shoot it. They would just run up to it and beat it to death.

"Yep, it was back when she was young. Her metal plating was weaker then. The bullets penetrated and I had to rush her to a Pokémon Center," recollected Jim. "She was patched up fine, but the sad thing is that people still saw her as a violent monster. And she was shot at again four months after the first time."

"What the hell? That's terrible!" I said. The last thing I needed were people aiming their rifles at June and Shox.

"Yeah, it is. The guy had a rifle, jumped us while we were heading toward Blackthorn City, and shot at her five times. She dodged those five bullets with ease," said Jim with a nod.

I was stunned and speechless, blinking and picturing the Scyther fighting my Pokémon dodging assault rifle fire.

"They're not pets, Ed. You don't have that luxury. Not yet. If you're aiming to getting at least eight badges, then your Pokémon will have to be trained. There's no way around it. It's a hard fact for a lot of new trainers to come to terms with, but," lectured Jim, "you'll have to train yourself. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. If or when you manage to get eight badges, you will be a completely different person than from who you were when you started your job."

Those words would be etched in the stone that was my mind long after. I swallowed my fear, faced the battle with shoulders back and chest out, and watched. With every slash my Pokémon dodged, I would wince, but I kept my hands out of my pockets. This was the day I became a better trainer.

Jim would let my Pokémon rest for a few minutes and then have his Scyther go at them again. Within the first hour, I noticed that the Scyther would stop himself from going through with a fatal blow that could've cleaved June or Shox in half. On top of being devastatingly fast, the Scyther was very careful and precise, mainly swiping at June's feet and Shox's paws and tail.

When sunset came, Jim stopped his Scyther and told him that we were done training. With a nod from Jim, the Scyther bounded into the trees. June was on her back, breathing hard with clipped feathers scattered about her. Shox was on his side, gasping and his tongue plopped on the grass. Both were covered in small, numerous cuts and bloodstains. With a heavy arm, I returned them to their Poké Balls.

"Before we head back to the house, I said I'd show you what's in the well. And after this, we can drop off your Pokémon at the Pokémon Center for tomorrow. Come with me," said Jim. I followed him to the tomb-like structure. A dirty moist scent came from the inside the tiny room that barely fit both of us. A manhole was at our feet with a large, rusted padlock in the center, keeping chains in place that were attached to four bolts around the steel circle. Jim took a key from his pocket, knelt down, and unlocked it. Removing the manhole and unwrapping the chains, he rolled it outside where it did a small loop and landed flat on the grass. A small ladder was in the hole, with a rocky floor underneath it. Jim went in first.  
_  
[Hello friend of Green Friend. Who are you?]_ said a feminine voice in my head. I ignored it as a normal off-thought.

"Come on down, Ed," said Jim from below. I climbed down, gripping the metal, rusted rungs tightly. The scent of water was strong inside the hole, and to my surprise, small lit torches were planted into the ground below us a few meters away into the darkness. The light sound of running water was audible from the deeper parts of the well.

"Follow me," said Jim. He took me down to the torches, revealing a trail of them that winded down through the small cave that was a well. The passages were straight enough, but through some, I had to squeeze against the hard and cold wall.

Shortly, we found ourselves in a fairly large underground opening with the small torches on the wall. Fat pink Pokémon were scattered about on the ground, seemingly asleep. A river flowed at the rear of the room, its water sparkling from the light of the fires and making a reflective effect on the cavern walls. Jim picked up one of the pink Pokémon by the scruff of its neck.

"This thing's a Slowpoke," said Jim, "Or at least, that's what humans call them."

I took out my PokéDex.

"Slowpoke uses its tail to catch prey by dipping it in water at the side of a river. However, this Pokémon often forgets what it's doing and often spends entire days just loafing at water's edge."

The name 'Slowpoke' suited the fat pink creature. The one in Jim's grasp made no effort to get away. It's large, empty eyes were wide open and its lower jaw was hanging lazily, but all it did was look down toward the ground in an almost depressing stare. Somehow, its fur was very fine and well groomed.

"Who names Pokémon species anyway?" I asked Jim.

"The trainers that find them. Kids. All Pokémon have many names though," he answered. "You should've responded to her. You would've probably known a new name for Slowpoke by now."

He confused me, making my brow furrowed. "Her?"  
_  
[Me. I am coming up.] _

"Ah, let's get closer to the water then," said Jim. That voice spoke in my head again, making me stand there paralyzed from fear and confusion. Jim grabbed my arm and pulled me. We made our way through the lot of idling Slowpoke. There were about thirty or forty in the opening, and none of them moved an inch.

When we reached the edge of the ground we stood on, Jim got on his knees and put his bare arm into the water.

"What are you supposed to be doing?" I asked, thoroughly confused. Jim had an anxious face on.

_[Green Friend is waiting for a Bivalion. I do not know why for the Divine Serum will not work on him.] _

"What the hell is that?" I demanded. My eyes darted all around me, searching for a woman.

_[Young human, instead of referring to me as a sentient being, you refer to me as a mere thing or object. You are beautifully naïve. It is quite a shame that the elder humans are still on your level.] _

To our right, a pointed object emerged out of the dark water, followed by a gleaming red crystal settled on top of the largest ridge of what was a shell. Two stubby pink arms reached onto the edge of the ground and a Slowpoke came out, revealing that the shell was on its head. Once its hind legs were on land, it stood straight up, becoming taller than Jim even with its shell. Wrapped around it were trails of some aquatic plant with different kinds of shells entwined in the stringy leaves, almost like a robe reaching up to its stout neck. Its face was just as blank as its brethren, with its eyes focused on me as it stood in front of us.  
_  
[I am Dialgarice, leader of the Bato Aqualians as you see around you. And you will be called the Red Friend for your red mane.] _

"What the fuck?" was the only thing that came out of my mouth.

"Oh come on, Ed. Treat her with respect. She's practically a queen," leisurely said Jim, still with his arm in the water. "She's talking to you through your mind. She's a telepath."

This Pokémon was honestly a telepath? I thought. "So she's a Psychic type?"

"Yep," answered Jim. "Not all Psychic Pokémon do it though. I've seen Slowking that could talk in three different languages and couldn't use telepathy. Lady Dialgarice only uses telepathy, even though she can understand human speech.  
_  
[You are always so kind, Green Friend. I must inquire though. Why did you bring the Red Friend down here?] _

Jim kept quiet. Then suddenly, he jerked his arm out of the water and shot it back in, pulling out a small Shellder by its long red tongue that extended from the two shells that held its black body together. He held the Shellder firmly between both hands.

"I promised him I'd bring him down here. He felt your presence last night when you were afraid. You scared him," he explained.  
_  
[Red Friend, I am sorry. You must forgive me. Last night, I was having a dreadful nightmare of the day the remnants of my tribe had to leave this chasm years and years ago. Many were killed off by the human masters and the images reappeared so vividly.] _

Despite her idle stature, a lone tear dropped from her right eye. She has piqued my curiosity and sadness.

"What happened?" I asked.

Dialgarice took a large arm from the inside of her robe and wiped her eyes. _[The tragedy is even worsened by how simplistic it was. The human masters entered this cave long ago, long before both you and Green Friend were born. They came in, examined us, and took some of us away in the catching light machines. I was but a small child then, holding onto the Sacred Crimson that I now have on my head.] _

I decided to sit on the ground, next to a lounging Slowpoke with a spiral shell on its tail. This was like story time for me.

_[My mother was taken away. She had passed a Sacred Crimson down to me, meaning that I would lead my people as she did when I was of age. My father took control of the tribe in her stead until I matured and caught a Bivalion with my head. However, his rule was brief. The human masters returned with strange creatures that looked dreadfully similar to the catching light machines, but gargantuan in comparison. They exploded in mass chaos while my tribe was still in the cave.] _

Her last sentence startled me. "Explosions? Why? What are human masters?"

"I'll explain it. She's almost done," replied Jim, who had taken a seat beside me. The Shellder was still in his hand, bubbling at the edges of its shells.

_[The only ones who escaped were the ones who were in the water. My father tied the Sacred Crimson around my neck and threw me in, where a Bivalion finally intertwined with me upon my skull. The current took us out of the cave and into a river outside of the human settlement above. We pulled ourselves out and hid in the woods.] _

The fact that she was communicating with me was having a profound effect on my emotions. I was questioning if Dialgarice was really a Pokémon, and it threw my mind in all sorts of different places. Then I linked a few things together.

"Are the 'human masters' Champions?" I asked Jim.

He nodded. "This happened shortly after the Gyarados attack in Vermilion City in Kanto. After that, Pokémon Paranoia blew up. Some people who could sense the psychic vibes from the leader felt threatened and had the Champions clear them out. The same vibes you felt last night, but probably to a lesser degree."

The tale was grim, and disheartening, yet it made sense at how people could feel threatened. Walking around town then noticing you're in an entirely different place that's miles and miles away could really traumatize people. But to try to kill off all the Pokémon in the cave? That was too far.

"Why'd you return?" I asked. "There's a champion – I mean – a human master here." There was no doubt in my mind Alfred was here to finish the job started all those years ago.

Dialgarice may as well have been a statue. Every slight movement she made was easily noticeable. _[Most of the Bata here are my children. The other Bata are survivors of the tragedy. We spent years traveling through the woods, the neighboring woods, and even the manmade caverns underneath human settlements filled with their rivers of waste. I grew tired of it all. The other survivors grew tired of it all. So we returned. The river was blocked up from the explosions of the tragedy, but we worked together to remove the rubble. And here we are.] _

My throat started to choke. "That makes no sense."  
_  
[What makes no sense, Red Friend?] _

"You're going to die."  
_  
[Indeed. This world now belongs to you humans.] _

"I don't get it. You brought your people here to be killed?"  
_  
[Yes. We are quite indignant. We will lose if we retaliate, for we are weak, and then more human masters would come. So we will all die in our home. Our original home. The Bata Aqualians are no more. The existence outside our home is pitiful, so we will remain here until our end.]  
_  
I stood up and stomped the ground in frustration at what she was telling me. "That's so goddamn ignorant! Aren't there any other colonies you can join with or something? Did any of your people leave you? Because that's so stupid! Shouldn't you all want to live?"

The corner of Dialgarice's mouths curled slightly into a smile.

_[You are young, Red Friend. Young and again, naïve. But you have such a radiant heart. Its aura resonates with another pained young human who entered the human settlement above. Her heart was vibrant, and then one day, it was twisted in the palms of vileness.] _

Alice was the first one to come into my mind. I became worried as I had been last night.

"What do you mean?"

_[There is no more I can say. I never encountered the young human, but her heart was beautiful. Then, it became twisted in her agony caused by some malevolent force unknown to me. A force that was not the Blue Friend.] _

Jim had been listening intently as well, still holding the bubbling Shellder in his grasp. "She's talking about the kidnapping some time ago. There's no way we can tell if it's this Alice you keep mentioning, but I will get to the bottom of this," he said with fierce resolve.  
_  
[Now leave me. I must rest. I feel as though my days draw closer and closer to the end and I would like to feel comfortable for the remaining time.] _

With that, Dialgarice slumped over on her side and joined the rest of the Slowpoke in being idle on the ground. Her voice stopped resonating in my head.

"When she mentioned the Blue Friend, she was talking about Alfred. His blue vest. She'd call a serial killer friend, I think, with how mean he treated her," said Jim with contempt. "Damn prick."

He got up and threw the Shellder back into the body of water. His mood had dropped significantly after Dialgarice told her story, but he managed to explain what she was as we made our way out of the well. She was a 'Slowking'. The spiral shell on her head, as well as the spiral shells on some of the Slowpoke's tails were Shellder also, but had transfigured into a different body to accommodate themselves while they injected the bitten Slowpoke with a chemical that made them use more portions of their brain. If the Shellder remained on the tail, the Slowpoke would be classified as a 'Slowbro' in the PokéDex.

"Slowpoke have a small grasp on their psychic abilities, but with more areas of the brain accessible, they tap more into their psychic powers as they become more intelligent. Dialgarice most likely has some sort of psychic link between the other Slowpoke, which is how she commands them," he explained.

"That's how she probably had them all follow her to die," I said darkly. Jim didn't respond.

We climbed out of the hole and into the night sky. Jim's Scyther came bounding down from the trees for his trainer to pet him. After Jim sent him on his way, he took me to the Pokémon Center where I dropped off June and Shox, and went back to the house for dinner and sleep to prepare for the next day of training. Despite the awkwardness of being around Chloe, who had been silent to me the entire time, I ate quietly in deep thought. In the bed, I spent most of the time in bed looking up at the ceiling. The only thing in my mind was the question: What are Pokémon? Did Dialgarice count as a Pokémon?

I was starting to see why Rob questioned how I referred to his Pokémon back in Violet City. Did he experience something similar to what I did?

//////////////////////////////////////////////

Hope you liked it. I've started working on Chapter 18. Again, read up and tell me what you think!


	11. Chapter XI: Off The Chest

_---Author's Note---_

_Here's Chapter 11. If you've read this far, then you deserve a major thank you. I'm glad I'm writing something that entertains you enough to continue through the story._

_Also, I've added the Chapter names to the Chapter menu thing. I couldn't get all of Chapter 9's name in, but it's ok...I hope =/. And I hope how you like how I explain Pokeballs lol.  
_

_Anyway, read and review! Give me your thoughts, concerns, and hate._

----

Chapter XI: Off The Chest

_  
An article from THE SAFFRON HERALD_

_The Magical Mechanics of PokeBalls...Or Are They Really Magical?  
_**-An Interview With Silph's Executive ****_Poké Ball_**** Developer Finn Garland**

**by Terrance Booth  
**_  
September 5th, 86th Cycle_

_Part 1_

_"Our factories pump out hundreds of thousands of PokeBalls and its variants every day. On the conveyor belts, PokeBalls are in their standard red and white color. They're later divided to different squads of our special sub factories, where the balls are augmented to different degrees of catching prowess. After that, they're shipped to the Pokemon stores all over the world._

_There is a certain compound that Silph utilizes, but now Devon Corp excavates, named Dominicite, or as we prefer, Domini. Domini are excavated in various mines in all the regions and a few islands on the outskirts of the land, similar to how we find various Evolution stones._

_We take Domini and simply make small lenses out of them just like our forerunners did. We stuff them into the mechanism that is the actual ball that's thrown and put in another mechanism that produces a light used to capture and call back the Pokemon. The light passes through the Domini lens, then the waves of the light are amplified to a different frequency._

_This frequency is called the 'Catching Wave'. The Catching Wave is visible to the eye, taking a form that's close to visible light except, as some trainers describe it, jagged, twisted, and wild._

_Every Pokemon emits a Natural Wave from their brain. The frequency of the waves are so astoundingly high to varying levels, that they cannot be heard, seen, or felt through normal means._

_The standard Catching Wave has a lower frequency than Natrual Waves. When a Pokemon comes in contact with a Catching Wave, its Natural Wave's frequency is lowered. At this point, the Pokemon is 'sucked' into the PokeBall. This is due to the nature of Domini: they tug at Natural Waves similar to magnets. Because the Catching Wave is an amplification of both light and the Domini waves, the Domini's absorbing power is essentially shot outward to actually catch._

_The body of a Pokemon is obviously connected to the brain, and the Natural Wave of a Pokemon will be emitted from the brain. The more stamina the Pokemon's body and mind has, the higher frequency its Natural Wave has. The body and the mind are linked to the waves, so when the waves are absorbed, so are the body and mind themselves. The body and mind are converted into waves that matches the Catching Wave. When the entire Pokemon is within the Pokeball, it now has the frequency of the Domini waves. Or rather, supposed to._

_The Catching Wave lowers the Natural Wave's frequency by a small bit, however. So if a healthy, strong Pokemon comes in conflict with a Catching Wave, its Natural Wave is lowered and the Pokemon is sucked into the ball. But, because the Natural Wave is so high, there's the chance that the Natural Wave of the Pokemon still retain a higher frequency than the Domini Waves. When this happens, the Domini lenses inside the Pokeball vibrate so much from the Natural Wave that they are destroyed, rendering the __PokeBall useless.__ The Natural Wave comes out of the PokeBall, along with the body and mind, and the three properties reform themselves into their natural configuration._

_This is why Pokemon need to be weakened before being captured."_

_~*~*_

The giant blue beetle glistened in the sunlight as it chucked June straight into a tree. Her body bounced off the trunk with a small thud and dropped into the grass face first. How serious was Chloe?

"Your Torchic needs to hustle more," she said, standing beside me with clenched fists, rooting silently. "She she can't just stand there waiting."

She was right. No arguing that. The Heracross waddled over to June, clenching and opening its small claws repeatedly, ready to pick up June and throw her again. She crawled herself to her feet and ran away from the four-foot upright bug.

"Or better yet, why don't you tell her to do something?" asked Chloe, pointing out the obvious with spite. She was still upset with me.

"I don't get why she's like this. She's really been into fighting other Pokémon. Especially when it comes to protecting me." I wasn't about to let her speak down about June.

"And there's your problem," said Chloe. Her voice had taken an irritatingly wise tone. "You're going to want to fix it if you're going to try and get seven more badges."

Chloe explained that it's ideal for a Pokémon be ready to fight whenever. June had a tendency to fight to defend me, but that had to be stopped. It was a sign of disobedience by her explanation.

"Even if she did help you with your first badge," taught Chloe, "you have to be consistent with your orders."

Rob left that detail out. "I don't get it." Now I was getting annoyed. "You don't even order your Heracross around," I pointed out. June stumbled over a twisted tree root. The Heracross hustled double time to her to snag and toss her again. I immediately returned her to her Poké Ball. June had gotten too much damage and the Heracross had made even shorter work of Shox earlier.

"That's because he's used to fighting. I raised him to fight. Going by a Pokémon's intuition and instincts is effective at times, but they have to be properly developed first. June was scared of my Heracross. She's young, so her first instinct would probably be to run away. If I sicked my Heracross on you, she probably would've fought back, however. June needs to be able to fight, no matter what's going on." She broke it down for me, and I absorbed every bit of it. Chloe was far more direct than Jim. Where Jim was calm and watchful, Chloe was aggressive and relentless. I'd been training with the both of them for a few days, and the Gym Leader couple really knew how to handle Pokémon.

"How can I fix it?" If she knew how I could get better, then she could talk down to me all she wanted.

"Just fight more. Fight wild Pokémon too. Keep fighting trainers, but fighting wild Pokémon will teach you lots of things like strategies to use with the environment, how certain Pokémon can fight effectively. Stuff like that. That's also the advantage of common Pokémon. You catch a Spearow and raise it, and by paying attention to what other wild Spearow do in the wild, you may learn a thing or two on how to train your own."

Chloe looked up at the evening sun through the canopy and checked her small wristwatch. "It's getting late. The Ilex Forest attracts the seediest people of Azalea around this time."

She returned her Heracross and led the way through the trees, continuing giving me advice on raising. Following behind her made me see that she looked good in a peculiar way. Her limbs were broad, but slightly defined. Her pink hair was in a ponytail to keep out of her eyes. When she'd turn around to look at me when she was making a big point, her brown eyes were fiercely dark. Her appearance suited her attitude: strong, yet caring. A part of me wondered if she had this attitude because of what she went through as a trainer. Watching her made me think about how I'd end up looking and acting like by the time I got my final badge. I asked myself if I would have that same attitude and flair of knowledge later in life.

When we reached the main trail, we came by an older man in an apron sitting on a stump. He was staring absently at the ground in front. He was the only person we had run into in the forest, making him out of place.

"Victor? What are you doing out here?" asked Chloe in friendly spirits. "You ok? You look like a Cubone."

The only movement from Victor was from the coarse breathing from his depressing frown. He looked to be about forty or fifty with his graying hair and slight wrinkles under his large grey eyes. When he finally blinked, I was taken back to when I saw Rob's Umbreon.

"When's that Champion gonna take care of the well?" he asked, sounding desperate. Chloe's aggressiveness kicked back in.

"When he does," she replied tersely. Perhaps townspeople asked her about the well all the time.

A small smile formed at the corners of Victor's old mouth. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ask that like that. The creatures there are turning this town upside down. I've had a bunch of nightmares since they showed up."

"They're Psychic Pokémon. They're bound to touch our heads at one point or another," explained Chloe unsympathetically. "Why are you out here anyway? Your son's looking after the inn?"

He simply nodded, then looked back to the ground in insecurity. "I just finished praying to the forest god." He spoke with small defiance despite his morbid demeanor.

Chloe noticed and chuckled. "I couldn't care less what you believe in. You're definitely not the only one who's been to visit the shrine, so I've heard. Miss Billie Mae and some of her friends just started going by it. But they go in the early morning. You know how scum and such like to gather in the forest. You'd be safer back at the inn."

"You could say I felt the Holy Spirit," said Victor dryly. "I just had to leave the inn. It's been getting negative attention since the girl ran away. People's starting to say all kinds of things. Saying that trainers shouldn't stay there. Let alone young girls." His volume increased with anxiety. "People are saying that I mess with young girls. That I tried messing with a visiting trainer. That I made her ran away. The last female I ever touched is now in the Divine Land. My wife died seven years ago. Her ashes must want to blow away because of all this commotion. The police came by and questioned me and my son. I've never had any trouble with the police!"

He was talking about molesting some kid, but at the moment, I didn't get how severe the crime was. By the time it hit me, I would be far, far away from Azalea Town with more experiences under my belt. He had simply put the idea in my head that he messed around with some young girl. Being on the older side of thirteen, I simply saw the idea of this old guy with any girl as disgusting to picture.

"People will be people. Of course they'll say anything to keep gossiping. Just like accusing the Pokémon in the well for every problem the town is having now. You know that that's hypocritical," pointed out Chloe.

"Yeah, you persistent young'un, I do," said Victor, with much more zest. "Who's the boy with you?" he asked, finally acknowledging me.

"He's a trainer. I was out today teaching him a few things," said Chloe.

"That so?" He held a hand out to me. "Victor Niel."

I shook his hand and felt the calluses in his palm scratch my skin. "Ed Willow."

"Since you're a trainer, Ed, how about I give you some advice? I've never been a trainer, but I know how ya'll catch the animals and monsters in the wild. There's some infant Bush Cutters near the forest god's shrine. I've seen Young Chloe and Young Jim with the same kind of monster. Perhaps you'd want one too."

A Scyther? I could've left Chloe right now to head to the shrine, wherever it was in the forest.

"That'll be for another time," answered Chloe for me. "Right now, it's getting late. He's staying with my family and we're heading home. I suggest you head out too."

Victor smiled more warmly. Perhaps meeting up with him cheered him up. "Yeah, you're right. I'll stay here for a few more minutes. It's peaceful enough here for me to think to myself. You go on now."

The two of us left Victor by himself. The walk back to the house was silent. Chloe seemed upset and distraught, looking down at the ground the entire time and her hands in her pockets. I didn't have the courage to ask what was on her mind, and frankly, it was none of my business. Noctowl began to hoot from trees deep in the forest. Night had fallen.

Spaghetti was ready for us in the house, thanks to Jim. He and Chloe fed their children as they ate and I sat to myself simply watching. Neither kid would let their parents feed them without hassle. Liz grabbed the food from the fork in front of her and tied it around her fingers. Jonas was just covering his face with the sauce from the bowl.

The scene made me miss my family more than I've had so far in my journey. A family dinner just triggers nostalgia in me. Mom would make dinner. Dad, Gavin, and I would clean the table. While we were eating, Dad would always tell funny stories about people he met in the bank. Gavin would talk about high school, his grades both good and bad, girls he wanted to ask out, and future plans. Mom was sort of the mediator-slash-instigator. If either Dad or Gavin were crossing the line for a family dinner, she'd tell them to hush. Anything else, she'd interrogate the two of them. In the end, she would either get angry at Dad for talking too much about a woman he met at his job or start picking on Gavin because how shy he would get around girls.

I was the baby, so I had nothing to talk about. School was horrible and I didn't want to bring it up to my parents at all. They'd end up mentioning it though, all from teachers calling them to talk about how poor I did on the last few algebra tests among other assigments. My parents would try to avoid comparing me to Gavin, who'd be eating silently while I was in the spotlight. He was the complete opposite of me. I always waited for Mom or Dad to say something like "Why can't you study like Gavin?" or "Why don't you ask teachers for help like Gavin?" Mom never did it, but Dad ended up making the comparison before I left home. I guessed he wanted another Gavin. He did a good job hiding it, I convinced myself.

Would it be alright to call home? Were they even worried about me? I said I would write a letter, but I realized I never really had the time to sit down and do it. Through the doorway, a smooth white phone was mounted on the kitchen wall.

My parents did a 180 before I left. I wanted to ask why. I'd be lying if I said I remembered their voices perfectly too.

"Hey Jim. Chloe." I didn't know which one to ask. "Could I use your phone?"

"Sure, go on," answered Jim, cleaning up Liz's face with a napkin.

I excused myself from the table and went into the kitchen. My gut became heavy. I didn't know what to expect. Who'd pick up the phone? If it were Mom or Dad, what would they say? Would they be upset? If it was Gavin, would Mom and Dad demand to talk to me? What if they didn't? Would they be that disappointed in me?

I was divided. A part of me didn't want them to pick up. Another part wanted me to just hang up the phone and forget about calling. However, my conscience and curiosity made me dial.

First ring. I put my back against the side of the doorway back to the dining table. The fridge was to my left. On it were various colored magnet letters that spelled several nonsense words. The word MOM was on the top right.

Second ring. I pushed some letters around. I spelled JUNE, then SHOX.

Third ring. I found a D under JUNE. I pushed the E down and spelled ED. Then I pushed ED back up, spelling JUNED.

"Hello?"

I swallowed. Mom picked up the phone. I held the phone with two hands and slid down to the floor to sit.

"Oh God." I was shocked and I struggled to find words to say. My momma.

"Hello? Who is this?"

Then I found the only word that could come out of my mouth, the one word that told what was on my mind at the moment.

"Mom."

There was a sharp gasp on the other line. Then she went "Oh God" herself.

"Ed? Edward? Eddie? Oh my God. My baby. Jon! Ed's on the phone! Get the other phone!"

I prepared for reckoning.

A click and some shuffling sounded. "Ed?!"

Dad had gotten in on it. "Dad."

"Oh God you're alive!" He exclaimed, his voice slightly cracking. "We've been trying to get in touch with you ever since you left."

"Why did you leave us like that, Ed?" Mom's voice was cracking as well. "You didn't give us a chance to see you off. You didn't even wake us up that morning! Why Ed?!"

"Mary…" Dad sniffed, but he kept his voice stable. Both of them were confusing me. Here they were, actually caring now. The coldness seemed gone. I thought in silence.

"Ed? Ed!" called out Dad.

"I'm here," I finally murmured.

"Are you ok? Why come you're not talking? Where are you?" Dad started his questioning.

"Wherever you are, we'll come and get you," declared Mom. The sound of keys jangling came from her line. Come and get me? Now I was really thrown off course.

"I'm fine. I'm in Azalea Town staying with these two Gym Leaders and their kids."

Mom made a noise away from the phone that sounded like a scream or a sharp gasp.

"Azalea Town? How'd you get there?" asked Dad, hinting at being impressed.

"Walked," I answered with a swell of pride. "Went through Cherrygrove and Violet, following the highways."

Dad whistled. "Wow. I can't believe it, Ed. You're really doing it? You're really going for eight badges?"

"Are you hurt? Are you hungry? Do you have any money?" asked Mom.

"Yeah yeah, you need anything?" Dad asked in a worried tone.

They're concerned for me? Where the hell was this two and a half weeks ago? My confusion churned itself into a mix of anger and resentment. Then I let it out.

"No. I'm fine," I slithered. "I'm perfect. In fact, I think I'm better off now that I'm out the house. And Mom, you know you can't get me. I'm a trainer now. Where's your hope in me?"

"Ed? What are you talking about?" she asked innocently.

"You and Dad wanted me out of the house so much, you two caring now is actually pretty strange to me." I let it all out. My blunt honesty was stinging even to me. "Gavin was the only one who actually acted like a dang human. The both of you just hated me when that letter came to the house."

The two of them fell silent. Had my words gotten through to them? I wondered.

"We were angry. We're still angry." Dad was getting unsettled from me explaining his conduct to him. He was going back to the Dad who threw me around before I left home. "You became a disappointment in school, and now you're out there in the world all alone." His volume increased. Even if it was in response to my attitude, it was still upsetting. I had just insulted him. What did I expect?

"Jon, stop that. Don't yell at my son," ordered Mom solemnly. "You're getting offended."

"_Your son?_ Don't start that. He's our son. Just as much as Gavin. He just screwed up his life, and even you agreed with me," retorted Dad.

Mom gasped. "I beg your pardon? You're going to just say that about Ed, who's living and breathing away from home? Ed still has his life. He can do anything he wants. How do you figure his life is screwed up?"

Dad gave a spitleful chuckle. "Barely. He's a trainer. Even if he did get all the required badges, how much time would it take him? He probably doesn't even have any at all. He sure won't have them all before summer's over. He gets all the badges and what'll he do then? Go back to school? He'll be behind everyone and it'll go against him if he's the oldest in his class. Also, he has history as a trainer. That there alienates him from more than half the jobs in Johto."

Those words stung my brain. I dropped the phone as if it burned me. The sound shocked the happy family at the dinner table.

"Ed, what are you doing?" asked Jim. He came into the kitchen. I didn't look up at him; it wasn't like he could do anything about the fact that my Dad was right. I had been going on avoiding thinking about the future. School? What would I do? I only had one badge, but going all around Johto would be time consuming. For the first time in my life, I felt unsure about my future. A chill found itself in my chest.

Jim knelt down. "Ed, you ok?" He picked up the phone. "Who's this?"

Everything happening outside of my head didn't matter to me. With just a few words, my Dad had shattered my sanity.

"My name is Jim Linus. I'm a Gym Leader of Azalea Town. And you're Ed's parents? …Uh-huh. ….Yeah he's ok, a bit surprised about something. He's been through a lot though. ….Personally it's none of my business. ….I'd appreciate it if you not take that tone with me. ….I'll ask him. …Well, in my opinion, he…. I see. …Alright." He held out the phone for me.

"You want to talk to them?" he asked. The fact that I had a choice surprised me. I took the phone and stared at it for a good minute, asking myself several questions. Did I have to talk to them? Did I need them? Did it really matter what they thought? My hand slowly gave the phone back to Jim. I regretted ever calling home.

Jim hung up the phone. "No offense, but your dad really should watch his mouth." Jim was slightly agitated, which was understandable. Dad was able to have that effect on people he didn't like.

As much as I agreed with him, words failed to come out of my mouth.

"So you were talking to his parents. What did he say?" asked Chloe from the table, letting Jonas play with her ponytail.

"Stupid shit about how trainers don't do anything. And he tried to tell _me_ that." Jim looked up and snickered. He shrugged. "Fuck'im."

The both of them cleaned up the table while I still sat on the floor. I wasn't awestruck as much as I was contemplative. Really, what was I going to do even if I did get all eight badges? What if it took forever? Hell, what if the Champions decided to come up with more nonsense for trainers, like getting more badges? The prospect of getting sixteen badges made me sulk even lower.

"Alright Ed, get up. You can't stay on the floor forever," said Chloe, scrubbing dishes. "I'm guessing your rents gave you a hard time about being a trainer."

I had been on the floor for a good half an hour. Though I was still shocked and upset by how unsure my future was, I was still a nuisance. I stood up.

"Chloe, I'm sorry." Being by myself at least taught me to man up when I needed to. However, I kept my eyes at her feet. "And I'm also sorry for leaving the door open when I ran out that night. I should've closed it behind me."

A small smile appeared on the side of her face as she put up utensils. "I've been waiting for you to apologize like that. Everything's fine. I don't think you'll do it again. You're mature for your age."

I wished. If I had been mature, I wouldn't have been a trainer to begin with.

"You really shouldn't sulk like that," she advised, "Someone didn't die, hopefully."

I shook my head. "It's nothing like that. My dad pretty much told me that I had no hope." I sighed and snickered darkly.

"I'm not really good at hearing out other people's personal problems," admitted Chloe, putting dishes in cabinets. "But I do feel like you're trying to get my pity, whether you mean it or not. He said what he said. What are you gonna do about it?"

_What was I going to do about it?_ Rob would say something like that.

"Prove him wrong…?" I spoke the first thing to come to my head. The thought of showing my dad that I could amount to something rushed energy back into me, cheering me up.

"What? Hell no. That takes too much work," she replied, knocking my self-esteem down. "You'll figure out something easier. Anyway, Jim's getting up early to train his Pokémon. You're joining him, right? I feel like Alfred might shut down the gym for a while soon with this Dialgarice stuff going on, so you're going to want to hurry up and get that badge."

She was right, and I also felt like I was overstaying my welcome in the house.

"You think I stand a chance?" The topic changed for the better.

"For the second badge? Sure. If you were fighting me and I was half asleep, I think you'd win." She casted an expectant eye at me. When I started laughing at her joke, she laughed with me. "But since you're fighting a champion full of himself, yeah, I think you have a decent shot. If you want a guaranteed win, then me and Jim could train you harder." She winked at me. "We can make it so that your next few badges will come easier."

We continued to talk until it was time to go to bed. Finally being on good terms with Chloe made me sleep peacefully and somewhat not think so much about what Dad said. However, I did think about Gavin. I didn't even get the chance to ask about him. I made another promise to myself to get in contact with him soon, perhaps after training.

I opened my eyes into the darkness of the living room when something occurred to me. Goldenrod City had a gym. The highway connecting the major areas in the center of Johto would lead straight there from Azalea. I'd be going to my birthplace soon if Goldenrod had the closest gym.

And where was Rob? I had been here for five days and he was still gone.

I feel back into the bed and yawned. Sleep had taken over me quickly, but I formed up a quick plan for my journey. First I'd train with Jim, and then take on Alfred. After that, I'd head to the closest Gym. If Rob wasn't in Azalea by the time I was done with the town, I hoped I ran into him again.

With the comfort of some of my future planned out, I drifted to sleep.


	12. Chapter XII: The Hive Badge

_---Author's Note---_

_Here's Chapter 12. After this chapter, the chapter lengths decline a bit, but picks back up at Chapter 17. Around this time, I decided to go for a more condensed style. Chapter 17 (the most recent chapter I have written as of posting Chapter 12) contains certain skills I learned from my Creative Writing class._

_Hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter and the rest! And sorry for having such a jumpy style!_

_Leave comments/reviews! If you have anything on your mind like questions or just comments and criticisms, send it my way via the Review Function!_

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Chapter XII: The Hive Badge

**An article from THE SAFFRON HERALD**

**"The Magical Mechanics of PokeBalls...Or Are They Really Magical?"  
-An Interview With Silph's Executive ****_Poké Ball_**** Developer Finn Garland**

**by Terrance Booth**

**September 5th, 86th Cycle**

**Part 2**

_  
"In order to eject a Pokémon out of a Poké Ball, sufficient force must be applied to the shell. Throwing the ball and letting it hit the ground is the preferred method. _

_  
Once the force is applied, the light mechanism inside the ball will trigger, pushing the Pokémon through the Domini lens and out the ball. Once the Pokémon is exposed to the outside, the body, mind, and Natural Waves will reform themselves into their proper order. _

_  
Another astounding quality of Domini is that once its waves are in sync with a captured Pokémon Natural Waves, the two waves will remain in sync. This is the primary trait utilized in the process of returning Pokémon. _

_  
The distinguishing part of a Poké Ball returning a Pokémon is the red beam of light that shoots through its center. This light is a beam of the reconfigured Domini Waves that are perfectly in-tune with the Poké Ball's Pokémon's Natural Waves. When the Pokémon's Natural Waves and its Poké Ball's Domini Waves come in contact with each other, the Pokémon's Natural Waves will 'travel' down the Domini Waves back into the Poké Ball, carrying the Pokémon's mind and body with it. _

_  
Returning Pokémon to their PokéBalls is more complicated than Catching. In order to make Returning possible, the Domini Wave itself that must be ejected out of the PokéBall. To actually let out the Domini Wave, the light mechanism inside the Poké Ball shoots out light and pushes Domini Waves out. The center of the PokéBall contains a plain fitted lens that reflects the other color waves within the light, letting only red waves and Domini Waves through. _

_  
Red, unlike any other color on the visible light spectrum, is able to carry Domini Waves in sync with a Pokémon's Natural Wave safely. _

_  
Because both red light and white light are used with PokéBalls, the traditional PokéBalls are colored red and white." _

_~*~*  
_

Shox got low and slid under the Scyther's sweeping blade. The audience of kids cheered and whistled him on, waving and beating their sticks together. Jim sat in the front with the youngest kids, rooting with as much enthusiasm.

"Alright Shox! Now get away!" I shouted. Shox bounded toward me with his dark blue fur sparkling with electricity. As his paws hit the ground, a few blades of grass would catch fire and sizzle out in the air. The Scyther trailed him, zooming behind Shox by buzzing its four wings. They started to reflect the sun, so I put a hand up to protect my view. When it was ok to see again, I saw that Shox did his own thing; he did a 180 and pounced on the Scyther's face.

The Scyther reeled back, screeching in agony. Shox was gnawing at its head with his front paws around the skull and rear paws on its chest, as if Shox had hunted the Scyther down. The spectacular part was that Shox was shocking the Scyther at the same time.

"Damn that's fatal," commented Jim. The kids around him were too in awe for words.

"Well, he did learn how to fight Scyther from dodging yours so much," I pointed out with pride to Jim. His and Chole's training pushed June and Shox to new heights and made them more experienced with battling. Rather than just going after the opponent, Shox became more organized with his moves. June, while she always had been organized and conservative with attacks, became braver. She stood up to Chloe's Heracross the day before and was throttled more than ten times, but she got on her feet and actually attacked the bug. From the fight, we came up with a decent strategy against armored opponents that June took to heart. By blasting fire at an armored Pokémon's stomach, the armor is softened. After roasting the Heracross's stomach, June gave it a punch with so much power that it cracked the bug's exoskeleton.

Just as June and Shox improved, my skill as a trainer got better as well. While Shox was fighting the wild Scyther, I noticed how tactless the bug was compared to Jim's. Jim's was frighteningly cunning and graceful as it did its fatal dance over the grass and through trees. The wild Scyther had violently swung at Shox, but its movements were predictable enough for Shox to coolly duck and slide underneath the blades.

The Scyther fell onto its back from Shox's relentless jolts and biting. Small bits of its green exoskeleton scattered on the grass as it flailed its blades in agony. Jim and the kids gave me an expectant look. Me being a trainer, I knew what they were waiting for.

I reached into my backpack and pulled out a Poké Ball. I activated it and cocked my arm back, twisting my spine and lifting my left leg, getting in the proper pitching stance to throw a low ball. My target was one of the Scyther's legs.

I threw the Poké Ball. It bounced off the Scyther's right clawed foot and went into the air. The ball cracked open, releasing the white light and absorbing the Scyther. When the ball fell into the grass, it did its shaking. Shox nudged the ball with his nose out of curiosity.

"Shox. Stop that. Come here," I commanded. Shox padded to my side, sat, and watched.

The Poké Ball started shaking vigorously, rolling around. I returned Shox and threw out June, getting ready for a quick round two. She immediately put a protective feathery hand on my leg, checking if they were any threats around us.

"It's gonna pop out!" shouted a little girl behind me.

And it did. The jagged light burst out of the ball, reforming into the Scyther. The ball closed itself. Smoke came out of its edges. I ignored the dead Poké Ball and knelt down to June.

"Alright June, we're gonna finish it off. But let's not use fire so much like we usually do," I whispered to her. I felt like she understood me; she was June. She stared at the Scyther, who was staggering from just getting out of the Poké Ball. I gave her orange head a friendly rub.

"Your arms are getting stronger now, so let's see if you can punch it like you punched Chloe's big bug."

I patted her back and stood up. Without a moment's notice, June ran up to the significantly taller Scyther and sucker punched it right in its gut. It reeled over her in pain, jaw wide open, and I grabbed my own stomach from how painful it looked. There was a certain fantasy I've wanted to see June do, and the chance had brought itself.

"June! Grab it and slam it!" I shouted.

Again, she understood me. She turned around. With her orange and yellow arms, she grabbed the Scyther's neck from behind and with stunning strength for something her size, brought the Scyther over her small shoulder and onto its back with a painfully audible thud. The crowd blew up in cheers.

"Wow! That guy's good! I wanna be a Pokémon Trainer!" shouted a blonde boy next to Jim. Jim ruffled his head.

"Be sure to talk to your parents about it first," he advised responsibly. "But first, let's watch this 'good Trainer' do his thing. Good show Ed."

Because the Scyther had already escaped one Poké Ball, it was okay not to take any chances.

"June! Get on him and punch'im!" I commanded, making punching motions with my fists as if I was knocking someone's lights out repeatedly. June copied me for a brief second with a blank face before she got the picture. Just as she did back in Violet Town against the Bird Pokémon, she got on top of the Scyther. Instead of roasting it, she gave it swift knocks across its head. Back and forth, the head flipped to its sides. The Scyther screeched weakly. It struggled to get up, but June wasn't giving it a chance.

If I wanted to, I could've had June set the Scyther on fire while punching it. That would've definitely done the trick, but I figured that would be overkill. I threw another Poké Ball. When it sucked in the Scyther, June rolled over to the side to watch. This time, the ball shook faintly. Then, it stopped shaking and the center blinked red. I had caught my third Pokémon – a Scyther.

I went over to June and pulled her up to her feet. I grabbed her open palm and gave it five, making sure I had the brightest smile on my face. In return, she gave me a confused look, as if I had punished her with a slap. I decided to start doing that until she understood what it meant. The kids applauded and cheered. Jim gave me a slow clap.

"Let it out! I wanna see it!" ordered a little boy missing too many front teeth.

"What do you mean 'let it out'?" I said in good humor, "It's too weak to be let out now. And you saw it before I caught it. Nothing's changed."

I picked up the ball and deactivated it. Before putting it in my pocket, I gave it a good long stare. In my hand was my third Pokémon. While I was fighting the Scyther, I had my doubts about if I could actually catch one or not. When Jim woke me up to train with him, I told him that I heard some Scyther were seen at the Ilex Forest shrine and that I wanted to catch one. He figured it would be decent practice so took me there, but we ended up running into one on the way. The Scyther was basking in the sun, wings and arms out and stiff. Children of local families visiting the shrine gathered around it prodding it with sticks so the Pokémon would actually do something. Jim suggested I aim to catch it since if the parents were to find their kids around the wild Scyther, it would be shot dead by night.

"Ed, what are you going to do with that Scyther? You're taking it with you to the gym?" asked Jim, getting up and wiping grass off his pants.

"Nah," I answered, putting the ball in my pocket. "I'm gonna stop by the Pokémon Center and leave it there to heal up. Besides, it probably wouldn't listen to me."

"Good plan," affirmed Jim. He turned to the kids. They'd been wondering what to do next. "You guys comin'? My friend Ed here's going to go to the Pokémon Gym. You all should ask your parents if you can watch."

The kids, all ten or twelve of them (I have forgotten), immediately got on their feet and followed the main trail deeper into the forest toward the shrine. All of them were shouting that they'd see us later.

Jim and I left the forest through a shortcut next to his house and went inside to pick up Chloe. The first thing out of her mouth was about if I caught a Scyther or not. When I told her I did, she gave a loud "HELL YEAH, ED!" Then out of the blue, she asked me what she should wear to the Gym.

"Did I hear you right?" I asked. I put this on my mental list of things to brag to Rob about. Someone's wife asked me what she should wear to an event important to me. I imagined him falling to the floor in giggles.

"Yeah. _What?_" asked an even more confused Jim. She answered her husband.

"He just caught a Scyther and he's about to get his second badge. Me, Jojo, and Lizzy, will be in the bleachers cheering him on. Like seriously, when I was getting my badges, I wouldn't have minded some fans cheering me on. Besides, I have this nice yellow sun dress I've always wanted to wear," she said in a girly tone. Seeing Chloe being cute was new.

"Well…why don't you just wear that?" replied Jim, still confused.

"Because, today's gonna be a _good_ day," she said with a strangely seductive, yet mysteriously ambiguous tone. I was getting the idea that she was being flirty with Jim. Mom got that way with Dad when she was happy at times.

"Ed just caught a Scyther," she continued, "he's getting his second badge, and the Azalea Gym will be returned to its rightful owners tomorrow!"

"Returned? Alfred's leaving?" Jim's eyes got wide and a large smile found itself on his face.

She nodded. "While you were gone, he called saying that he'll be leaving tomorrow right after handling the issue in the well."

Jim shot his arms around her and the two embraced tightly. She bent her knees as he twirled her in a circle. Seeing the love and happiness made me want to join in, but I stood by smiling.

"That's the best news I've heard these past few weeks," said Jim. "Now things will get back to normal in this town."

She nodded again. "Finally," she exasperated. She pecked Jim on the lips before going upstairs to change.

"She gets that way when she's excited. Being a trainer kind of takes away some of your childhood, so some of it comes back at times," he explained, noticing how surprised I was. I felt a little disappointed because I didn't actually get to pick what Chloe would wear, but I never brought it up to Jim. He never brought it up to me.

"How do you think he'll deal with Dialgarice?" I asked him.

He blinked, as if he didn't expect that question. He looked down, and then he looked at me. Without a word, he took his kids and went upstairs. Perhaps he gave up on the queen, I wondered.

I went to the bathroom to check out my trainer clothes in the mirror. They had been in the dryer for the past few days. The Arbok's blood was gone and the bruising on my face had long disappeared. I felt ready for Alfred. Unlike how I was before I got my first badge, I felt like I could win against the Champion. However, looking at my hat, my vest, and my backpack made me question something that I'd been touching on since staying with Jim and Chloe.

Did I need Rob?

When I was starting out, I wouldn't have made it without him. He saved me from that Skarmory. He taught me how to fend for myself and stuck with me until I made it safely into a city.

He saved my life. This, itself, brought up other questions.

Did I owe Rob? Was I obligated to him? And if I did owe him, how do you pay back someone who saved your life? The thought was crazy. I always pictured a victim saved by someone as a person who went on with their life all happy and such. But my life was saved and here I was wondering how I should feel about it. If it were anyone else, would I have been saved? I gave him my thanks, but was that really enough? Him saving me, on top of him being an accomplished trainer, gave me an uncomfortable perception of him.

I tightly gripped the edges of the sink and fiercely stared into the mirror, almost angry at my reflection. I'd be heading to the Azalea Gym in a few minutes. Here I was psyching myself out when I was about to get my second badge. My bad habit of thinking too much was trying to come back.

There would be better opportunities to fuck with my head, I told myself. I splashed some cold water on my face to snap myself back to the present. After fixing myself up, I went to the stairs and shouted to Jim and Chloe that I was going on ahead.

My first stop was the Pokémon Center. I gave the nurse at the desk my Scyther's ball. She told me his injuries weren't too bad and that I could pick him up in a few hours. That was perfect enough, and I gave her thanks for giving me the gender because I had no clue how to tell. But she was bored, so she explained that it's difficult to tell the gender of a Scyther as young as mine unless the body temperature is checked. Roughly, hot means girl. Cold means boy. After saying thanks for the second time, I hurried out the Pokémon Center before she could hold me back more.

Outside in the street, bystanders were looking up at the morning sky at something. I joined them out of curiosity. Beyond the town, over the northern trees, an orange speck lazily doing figure 8s through clouds. Behind the speck was a long orange tail with a trailing flame at the tip. A Charizard.

My first thought was that Rob had finally come to Azalea. But I quickly pushed the thought out of my head; one thing would lead to another and I would have psyched myself out again. I marched over to the gym and went in.

I hadn't been in the gym since I first met Jim and Alfred in it. For a moment, I thought I was back in the Ilex Forest with all the trees inside and the silence. No trainers were sparring. The gym was cleared out, most likely due to Alfred taking over. Yet the door was open.

"Hello? Anyone here?" I called out.

At first, there was nothing. Then my head became slightly light, like I had come down with a virus. After having that talk with Dialgarice and being around all those Unown, I suspected a Psychic Pokémon was in the building. Chloe did mention that Psychic Pokémon had a strange effect on people. Perhaps, I thought, they always did.

As if on cue to scare me to death, a large metal flying saucer shot up from the trees and hovered in place. A man was sitting on top of it as it spun slowly. When two red circles and the giant white X on the saucer faced me, it descended to where I was. The man was Alfred, leaning on his elbow and listening to his earpiece. He waved down at me.

After a few minutes of wondering what it was, I finally remembered. The Pokémon was a Metagross, a large, metallic creature with four spider-like legs and a head similar to a saucer. They could hover from using telekinesis on themselves. Metagross were on the news all the time since Champions would always have them out.

As I got up, the Metagross landed and stomped its way to me, picking up dirt with its spiked feet. My head lost its wooziness the closer it got to me.

"Ah, Ed Willow," addressed Alfred in an official manner, removing his earpiece and putting it in his vest. I was hung up at how he remembered my name. "How are you this fine morning?"

His question caught me off-guard; I was ready to fight and talk smack. "I'm fine…I guess…?"

Alfred chuckled as he wiped his glasses on his vest. It was then that I noticed the bags under his red-lined eyes.

"Well," he started, "would you come with me to the main arena?" He hopped off the Metagross and tapped it softly where its nose would be if it had one. The steel Pokémon folded its legs in and hovered above the ground, and then it slowly rose up into the air. It turned around to head to the center of the gym. Printed on its back was an assortment of numbers and letters like a license plate. It read:

AH-H4293-MG524

"AH are my initials," explained Alfred without my asking. He must've saw me read them. "The second H stands for Hoenn. Those three letters along with the 4293 make up my Champion's ID. The MG and the 524 is the issue number for my Metagross."

"Interesting," I found myself saying. Normally I kept my thoughts to myself, but I was particularly astounded. Despite this, however, it was disturbing at how everything dealing with Pokémon was monitored with IDs. I had an ID. I was being monitored. My Pokémon had my ID. They were being monitored. Somewhere out there, I thought, there was a huge computer handling all of these IDs. All the kids forced to be trainers by the Amber Act were numbers.

Alfred chuckled again, putting his hands in his pockets. "Interesting? Is that all you can say about it? You took more interest in the numbers than the Metagross. Usually it's the other way around with trainers."

He started to walk down the dirt path to the center of the gym. I followed. He was very perceptive, but I didn't let on all my true thoughts. "Yeah," I said, "everything seems to just have a number to it when it comes to Pokémon."

He nodded. "Indeed, everything is numbers nowadays, but it makes things easier for us Champions to look over things."

I nodded my head, silent from a lack of words. 'Looking over things' probably meant reading a kid's entire short life on a computer, I thought. I stopped myself from scoffing around Alfred to avoid awkwardness.

The arena seemed to open up in front of me because trees had been on either side of us the entire time. The path stopped at the edge of the grassy rectangle, almost like a lawn. The borders and a Poké Ball diagram in the center were outlined with white paint. Two rusty Trainer Blocks faced each other from either side of the battleground. The bleachers at the end across from us were empty.

Alfred took a deep huff and stared up at the ceiling at the Metagross floating idly. He rubbed his weary eyes, and then cleared his throat.

"As a Champion taking temporary possession of this Gym, it is my duty to test the ability of any Trainer who wishes to obtain its badge, the Hive Badge."

He unbuttoned his vest and showed me the underside. On the linen were ten of the same shiny red badges, lined up in two rows. The Hive Badge reminded me of a Ledyba, with its round bug shape and three black circles on the back.

"The terms of victory are simple. The first to run out of usable Pokémon is the loser. You may give up at any time. Do you understand?"

Felicity gave me a similar briefing. "Yes," I answered, trying to sound official myself.

With a sharp exhale, Alfred's tenseness fell from relief. "Good. I'll be using three Pokémon. You'll be using two, I assume?"

I firmly nodded.

"Alright," he responded, taking out a single Poké Ball from inside his vest. "I guess I'll take the left Block. Good luck."

"Yes, same to you," I replied. I began to walk over to the right Block's ladder. I hadn't taken more than three steps before what Alfred said hit me. "Wait."

I turned around to get a good look at Alfred. He deactivated his PokéBall. He smiled as if everything was fine. "You're wondering about how I knew about your Pokémon. When we met, you didn't have your Pokémon out. How would I know about the ones you own?"

I remained silent, staring at him expectantly for the answer.

"Because of what's going on in Azalea, it's regulation for me to look into any Trainer who comes into this gym," he said.

"What's that have to do with the well?" I replied.

He furrowed his brow and rubbed his bare chin. "So the Lynuses have been talking to you about that? Hopefully you didn't go to neighboring towns and cities and make too much of a fuss about it. The League wants this to have little to no publicity. But the regulation isn't about the well, but about a kidnapping. I figured you've heard of it."

I nodded. I almost forgot about the man in the forest mentioned something other than seeing Scyther. That horrific psychic experience from Dialgarice forced me to think about what exactly happened.

"Well, I can't divulge any information on the case, but since it was a Trainer, the League's involved in it obviously. I looked up your information, as well as every other person's affiliated with the League that came by here."

What he said made sense though his information wasn't up to date. "Alright," I said.

"Also, don't worry about me cheating," he insured. "You have my word as a Champion that I will fight fair."

'The word of a Champion?' Rob would've made a crack at that. I nodded to Alfred and we both went to our respective Trainer Blocks. As I climbed up mine, I thought of what I was getting into. Two verses three, with three belonging to a champion made a quivering smirk on my face.

"I can do it," I told myself. When I was on the platform, I gripped the front guardrail. "I'm ready!" I shouted to Alfred. He was patiently tossing his Poké Ball in his palm.

"Let's begin then!" He yelled. Alfred chucked his Poké Ball into the arena, near the center where the Poké Ball drawing was. Out came a Pikachu. The yellow electric mouse was smaller than the others I'd seen and fuzzier than a puffball with hair more concentrated on its red cheeks. Alfred's first Pokemon sat in place, licking its paws.

Since Pikachu were electric-using Pokémon, I threw out Shox. I had no idea what the Pikachu could do to June, so fighting defensively seemed like the best thing.

"Pikachu, get him." Alfred flatly commanded. At that moment, the Pikachu disappeared.

Did Alfred lie and have the Metagross above mess with my head? I wondered. I was looking dead at the mouse, and then it just vanished before my sight. Shox was looking all around and over its shoulder, dumbfounded.

Two Pikachu popped up on either side of him, sparkling with electricity and fiercely ready to attack.

"Look out!" I yelled. Both Pikachu charged Shox. He sprinted toward the center of the field, narrowly dodging their charge. The two paused themselves and shot a glare at Shox at the same time. Then they charged him.

"What's this?!" I shouted to Alfred. "Two against one?! You said you wouldn't cheat!"

He shrugged his shoulders, remaining silent. My attention on him was immediately taken away by seeing Shox tumbling along the grass. He was knocked back by a charge from both Pikachu.

None of this could've been official. What was Alfred pulling? And where the hell did the second Pikachu come from?

"Ed! Win yet?" bellowed Chloe from the sideline. Her, Jim, their kids, and the kids from the forest were all in a group, climbing onto the bleachers. She wore the yellow sundress she mentioned. She held Liz, who wore a smaller similar dress. Jim bobbed Jonas on his shoulders.

"He's cheating! Alfred's cheating!" I accused.

"Cheating?" questioned Jim. He immediately sat Jonas next to Chloe and hopped down to the sideline in front of the bleachers. For the first time since I met him, he wore a shirt – a simple white T. The two Pikachu were chasing Shox all around the arena. He scrutinized the scene, folding his arms.

"Jim, you know the rules," Alfred said in an audible, calm voice. "If I am cheating, then I'll get off my Block and you and your wife can take over. If I'm not, then keep the Interference Clause in mind."

Jim didn't bother acknowledging anything Alfred said. He watched the two Pikachu as they rammed into Shox. He rolled back into his feet, keeping the pursuit going, confused. He was confused because I was confused. I stared tensely at Jim, waiting for his next action. The young girls were cooing annoyingly over the Pikachu.

Jim watched the pair intently, and then slowly nodded his head. "Everything's fine. Everything's legit."

My jaw dropped. Jim saw my disbelief and gave me a wink. Without a word, he climbed back up the bleachers sat next to Chloe, putting Jonas on his lap. He and Chloe started whispering to each other.

So Alfred wasn't cheating. Somehow, he had managed to call out one Pokémon, and brought a second one out of nowhere.

I took a deep breath. The battle had started and I was losing. I turned my cap around to get a better view and got into the game. Alfred was playing by the books. And as long as he was doing that, I could win. I just needed to figure out what was going on in front of me.

First off, buy some time. There were two ways to do this. One was by having Shox run laps around the arena with the Pikachu hounding him. The other was switching to June, and taking the time between swapping to figure out Alfred was doing. The second wasn't practical at all.

"Shox!" I shouted. "Keep running! We'll get'em!"

Since Shox was already running away, my command was stupid. Shox led them to the white line, and then did a sharp right angle turn. Both Pikachu stumbled over within bounds. I noticed that the one on the right mimicked the left one exactly, from stumbling to how they got back up to start chasing again. Alfred gave his own command.

"Bijou! Stay in the white lines!"

I watched his Pokémon, praying for a hint on how to beat him. But the longer I watched after Shox faked them out, the Pikachu on the right became more unnatural. For a moment, I swore that it wasn't even looking at Shox. The left one was directly behind him. The right one was diagonally behind Shox, yet it looked dead forward.

A Pokémon screwed with my memories of my home's basement nearly a week ago. Anything was possible.

"Shox, shock them! Now!"

Shox jumped to turn himself around and unleashed a bolt on both the Pikachu. The one on the right immediately disappeared. The one left stood still on all fours absorbing the electricity, snarling. The battle was starting to make sense. Somehow, the Pikachu cloned itself and a shock from Shox made the clone disappear. Jim started up applause and cheers. That was enough to tell me that I was doing something right.

The Pikachu stood right in front of Shox. I wasn't going to let it disappear on me again. "Shox! Sick'em!"

Shox didn't need another order. He swiftly pounced on the small Pikachu and took it in his jaws, rocking his head violently.

"Bijou! Double Team again!"

Alfred's Bijou popped out of my vision, right out of Shox's jaws. The move name "Double Team" stuck in my head. I was finally on to Alfred.

Bijou and his clone appeared on either side of Shox. Before I registered what they were about to do, the two rammed Shox from both sides. My Pokemon faltered as a wheeze escaped his gaping mouth. His right side gave out, and I could hear the whistling from his harsh breathing. Bijou hit him hard.

My hands automatically pulled out June's Ball. Shox was getting whooped. But I asked myself 'Would sending June out be the best thing?' Electricity was a dangerous force. June had never battled a Pokémon that used special abilities like she used fire. Shox handled those.

That second alternative for buying time seemed like a good idea. Shox needed a moment to recover. I withdrew him before he got back up and tossed out June. When the light around her faded, she searched for me, not used to me not being close when she was called out. Bijou took the opportunity. A thunderbolt knocked June into a somersault in the air, then on her back on the grass sizzling.

My eyes grew wide from fear. "June!"

My voice must've perked her up, for she jumped to her feet and balled her fists. For the first time, I noticed her eyes were getting lighter as she gave a fierce stare at Bijou and its clone.

"June, burn them!" I commanded, with a wide grin on my face. Seeing her ready also perked me up. I started to feel like I did coming to the gym, feeling like I could win.

She charged the one in front of her with an inflamed fist. It disappeared. The real Bijou sent a hot white jolt at June. She shrieked loudly as agonizing watts of electricity were pumped in her body.

"Come on June! Come on! You can do it!" I screamed. My nostrils flared from the burning scent. The smell of June being electrocuted had pumped adrenaline into my head, making me want to jump off the Block and save her.

June fell to her knees, wailing. I bit my lip, cursing myself for letting her suffer. She wasn't into fighting like Shox was. My first Pokémon probably had broken ribs and my second was about to die.

I fell to my knees and made to return June to her Poké Ball. A Champion had demolished me.

"Ed! You give up?" shouted Alfred. "The Return Clause is still in effect! If you call back your Pokémon now, you lose!"

I made to point the ball at June. I couldn't bear looking at her image, on her knees, almost as if she was bowing down to the damn rat. Her image was bright and smoke was beginning to rise. I shook my head at my own disappointment. The Pikachu was burning June, and I had let it happen due to carelessness.

Burning…June? Those two words didn't mix well in my head. How could a Fire Pokémon burn? I looked down again. June was definitely in pain from the shocking, but it was the grass burning around her causing the smoke.

I was in a gym filled with inflammable objects.

If there was ever a theme song for June, it could've been playing at that moment. "JUNE! BURN! EVERYTHING!" Said my voice.A revitalizing drive possessed me. I shot up back to my feet.

It was as if June opened up her own little crack in the ground to Hell. The grass around her exploded into flames that reached as high as my feet on the Trainer Block. Bijou stopped its electricity and bounced back to dodge the flame, which completely hid June. But I knew she was in it. I felt her in my heart, and I started to feel very, _very_ sorry for Alfred's Pokémon.

A demonic figure composed entirely of fire blasted out of the fire, right toward Bijou. Bijou high-tailed it, all the way to the other side of the arena, next to Alfred's Block.

Bijou never had a chance to turn around. The fiery figure zoomed to the Pikachu's back with ungodly speed, punted him. The small Pikachu was in the air, on fire, screaming. It abruptly stopped once it hit the ceiling. Before it fell, the red light of a Poké Ball sucked it up.

The audience did its own explosion. They cheered "FIX YOUR HEAD! YOU CAN'T BEAT ED!" I wasn't focused on them however. I was trying to figure out what June had become. As the flames on her body started dying out, fine yellow feathers were revealed. They were similar to the ones on her arms, but they were all on the upper half of her body. The bottom half was still orange, but the feathers there were just as fine, showing how defined her leg muscles were.

Alfred softly nodded with a smile, clapping slowly. "Interesting." He put Bijou's Poké Ball in his vest and pulled out another. "Your Pokémon prematurely evolved in the middle of battle. Congratulations."

Alfred's voice always sounded pretentious. I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. However, the word 'premature' made me want to take June to a Center. "What do you mean by premature?" I asked loudly.

He didn't answer. Instead he threw out his second Pokémon. Both June and I watched the white light it shot out to see what kind of opponent it would turn to.

Even odder than seeing Bijou disappear - nothing came out of the white light. The ball bounced back into Alfred's hand. First, he could clone his Pokémon; next, he's throwing empty Poké Balls. Alfred was a Champion and with that Pikachu, he showed me how you could pull off some nasty tricks and still follow the rules.

The flames June evolved in were blown out by an unseen force.

"June, stay alert," I commanded. She put her yellow arms in front of her and balled her fists, ready to fight. Her orange eyes searched for our enemy as they darted all around.

An idea to keep Alfred from pulling too many stunts formed in my head.

"Surround the big rectangle with fire June! Whatever's in it will show itself!"

And she did so. With barely a movement of a feather, June made the white paint on the ground illuminate into a wall of fire, reaching up to my feet. Despite all the fire going on in the gym, Jim and Chloe said nothing. Being Gym Leaders, they were most likely used to Trainers using fire as an advantage with all the grass. I also doubted there would be sprinklers since having them would be unfair for Fire Pokémon. The only real worries were if I accidentally caused a wildfire that would cancel the fight, if the invisible Pokémon would beat June, and if anyone got burned.

"EW! WHAT'S THAT UP THERE?!" shouted a girl. June's and my eyes shot up to the ceiling. Next to the Metagross on a light fixture was a black bug with what looked like a gold head, scurrying onto the ceiling. I whipped out my PokéDex.  
_  
"If Ninjask is not trained properly, it will refuse to obey the Trainer and cry loudly continuously. Because of this quality, this Pokémon is said to be one that puts the Trainer's abilities to the test." _

"This one is the offspring of another that won my friend a Sinnoh Championship. He gave it to me to raise," bellowed Alfred once he caught glimpse of my PokéDex.

"Good for you…" I muttered under my breath.

The air surrounding it burst into a loud explosion. The Metagross lazily floated away in another direction to avoid the flame.

"Wow, June's a Firestarter. Dangerous," commented someone from the audience. I ignored him. The Ninjask appeared on the ground in front of my Block. Again, with hardly a motion, June caused the air around the bug to burst in flames.

This thing was fast. Yet it wasn't attacking. Alfred was planning something. It was up to me to figure out what. Every time the Ninjask would appear, it would dodge the explosion and pop up somewhere else.

I pushed my mind. "Think!" I said to myself. "Think!" With the hardest battles I'd been in so far, the crazier I thought, the better things turned out. Rob told me not to think, but that wasn't going to cut it against Alfred. He wanted me to think. Gym Battles were tests.

I summed up everything I knew so far.

First off, Alfred's Pokémon were fast.

Second, his Pokémon seemed to have some sort of plan coming right out of the Poké Ball. This was as dangerous as it was impressive. The Pokemon were well trained.

Third, his Pikachu attacked. His Ninjask just avoided attacks and teleported.

He had said he wanted to battle me straight up. Therefore, he was stalling. Going on this train of thought, I asked myself 'What is he waiting for?'

"June! Stop attacking for now!" I shouted. I didn't want her to make the Ninjask go Mankeyshit. I resumed thinking.

'Why is he stalling? His first Pokémon attacked. His second Pokémon isn't.'

The third Pokémon. Was it possible he was preparing for his third Pokémon? I had pulled of an almost similar tactic against Felicity when I tossed Shox's ball up on a light fixture. Whatever Alfred was doing, he was probably preparing for his third Pokémon. It was the best guess I could make.

June's eyes darted all around, watching the bug seemingly teleport around. She was anxious, but Alfred was playing a waiting game. The best thing to do was to play along with him.

Alfred kept quiet. He removed his Champion's badge and wiped it against his vest. He definitely had a plan going, nor did he mind the long wait.

Before too much time passed, I realized I had my PokéDex out. Alfred didn't seem to mind me using it. Any source of help was needed.

I opened it up. Fortunately, it was still on the Ninjask's page. I scrolled to different screens, checking out its stats and attacks. Noticing the high speed stat number, the teleporting made sense.

The strangest thing was a small footnote underneath it stats saying that it increases its speed as long as it's out in battle.

For its moveset, Ninjask barely had anything sounded like real attacks. What got me was how the PokéDex said it could do a 'Poison Sting'. If I had a Ninjask, I'd abuse the hell out of its speed and the poison. The move 'Baton Pass' was at the top of the list.

I clicked it. A part of me wanted to give up once its details scrolled onto the screen. Somehow, Ninjask could 'give' its speed boost to another Pokémon, even if that mentioned Pokémon was in a Poké Ball.

I didn't see how it made sense, but if it was in the Dex, then it had to be real. And there was only way to see if Alfred was getting ready to use it.

"Hey Alfred! My PokéDex says that a Ninjask knows a move called Baton Pass! What's that?!"

"This!" He shouted with a smirk. My heart fell.

He pulled out two Poké Balls and held them out in front of him. The Ninjask appeared right in front of his Block, giving me a good look at its creepy, peering red eyes and white mandibles. Its wings beat faster than I could see. The obnoxious buzzing urged me to have June attack it then and there, but I kept silent to see what was going to happen.

That was the one mistake I made.

The Ninjask glowed and dissolved into red light, as did the ball in Alfred's right hand. The Ninjask was returned into the ball in his left. He pocketed it and tossed his third Pokémon out.

What came out of the ball almost made me give up hope for the second time in the battle. I could honestly see why Alfred was unfazed by June's evolution; he threw out what I consider to this day, one of the most jaw-dropping Pokémon I've ever seen.

The red blur that shot out of the white light sent June sky high. Then the red blur popped up right above her. For a split second, I saw the beast. It slammed its red claws into June, shooting her down toward the ground. It was a Scizor, the evolution of Scyther.

With insane speed, it managed to reach the ground before June. It delivered a roundhouse kick to her airborne body, sending her straight toward the wall of fire.

She was about to go out of bounds. My pulse skipped. "JUNE!"

She touched the wall. Another explosion. Except this time, it was around June. She bounced off the ground and landed on her back, miraculously inside the arena. June had saved herself by using an explosion to knock her in bounds. The thought of thinking that defensively never occured to me. June was a genius.

"Marco actually belongs to my gym leader girlfriend," Alfred shouted across the arena. "She uses him for second, third, and fourth badge battles. For your sake, consider this Pokémon Battling 101!"

He began to laugh at his own joke. The Scizor appeared on the ground in front of June, tauntingly glaring down at her with menacing yellow eyes.

"And I plan on passing," I wanted to shout out. June would kick Marco's ass. She helped catch a Scyther and she went toe-to-toe with Jim's Scyther. Jim's Scyther could dance circles around Marco.

"Get him June!" I yelled.

June did a circular sweeping kick across the grass. The blades sizzled into the air. Marco dodged the attack twice by appearing behind her, and then back in front when her leg went behind her.

He kicked her with his clawed foot. June swiftly grabbed it and pulled him down on the ground. She burst the grass around him into flames, making me remember the technique I taught her against armored enemies. Scizor was a steel Pokémon.

Marco disappeared again, and this time appearing behind June. He shot a claw forward, but June ducked and gave a backwards kick. Marco vanished, appearing in front of her and kicking her up into the air again. She soared all the way up to the light fixtures.

He teleported above her, but June was ready this time. She shot a full blast of fire into his face. Marco screeched in fear and protected himself with his claws. He was vulnerable.

I jumped and hollered. "JUNE! GRAB'IM, KEEP'IM, AND SLAM'IM!"

June snatched his leg. Alfred removed his glasses and watched the airborne spectacle. Tense silence filled the gym.

As the two Pokémon fell, June exploded the air around Marco, keeping him disoriented enough to stop his teleporting. Watching them descend made my heart stop. My mouth was aching from the wide smile on my face.

They were a few meters off the ground. I held my breathe. I didn't want anything screwing this up.

June slung Marco down toward the ground.

He teleported before he impacted the ground. He reappeared above June, and stomped her into the dirt. My smile turned to a frown as I winced.

Alfred applauded. "Good one Ed! Your Pokémon are really intelligent and you yourself are an intelligent trainer! Keeping Marco distracted like that is the sign of a good team! With enough practice, you two might be able to beat him!"

Marco picked up June. The crimson claw around her neck gave off a glare in the light similar to a pair of bloody scissors.

"Alfred, don't make him kill her! Please don't kill her!" I pleaded. Marco was dragging June to the wall of fire. Despite my desperation, my mind took heed at how Marco was walking instead of teleporting when he held June. He could've easily snapped her neck or chuck her.

June was a motionless ragdoll, but something inside of me told me she was alive and wide awake. She was banged up, but I felt she was waiting for one more push from me. One more magic plan.

"Don't worry!" responded Alfred. "I'm not cruel! Not that cruel at least!" He laughed at his own joke again. It fell on everyone else's deaf ears. He indignantly ignored them. "You're going to give up? Two versus one isn't good."

Then I formed a plan. I'll admit, it was silly, but I had a gut instinct that June was okay and was willing to test my idea out. The first part of my plan was to be silent for the moment.

Marco attempted to chuck June out the arena as I predicted, but an explosion hit his face. June broke free from his grasp and dashed to the middle of the arena. She gave me a confused look back at me as if to say 'Why didn't you say anything?'

I stayed quiet, praying to myself that Marco did what I expected him to do.

He teleported behind June and kicked her into the air. I remained silent.

He teleported underneath her and delivered an uppercut. She went even higher. I remained silent.

Both Pokémon were high up, inches from the ceiling. Macro fluttered and waited for June descend to few feet. Then, he teleported above her to kick her back down.

However, I had Alfred's game figured out. "NOW JUNE! SNATCH HIM AND SLAM HIS ASS!"

She grabbed Marco's leg and took him with her as she fell. Marco's head was rocked with each explosion June did on him. They looked like a missile dropping.

Alfred kept his taunts to himself, but it was my turn to taunt. His arms were folded and he had an open, proud smile.

"This was a crazy fight! Wasn't it?!" I asked him. My heart was pounding against my ribs. This was one of those moments were time didn't seem to exist anymore.

"Yeah! You're right!" he responded. I waited for more words, but he was still my opponent. I couldn't expect him to hand me a victory.

"Now I get to brag that I beat a Champion! What do you think about that?" I shot at him.

"Not a lot of people can say that!"

June was halfway to the ground.

"What other kinds of techniques trainers use to tell their Pokémon what to do?"

Almost there.

"There are a ton of them. And I believe you've figured out one of the more advanced ones."

So close.

"How do you think I figured it out?"

Meters away. We both were talking fast at this point.

"Patterns."

"Patterns in what? PATTERNS IN WHAT?"

June slung Marco.

"In my sty-"

His words were cut short by the sounds of thundering explosions. The falling missile made its impact. Smoke and dirt rose up and filled the entire area. Coughing came from the bleachers.

For the second time, I held my breath, hoping that nothing screwed up this time. I waited for my view to clear. I had to see June. I had to see Marco knocked the fuck out.

Through the clouds in front of me, I saw a red light. Then I heard a Poké Ball crack open and saw the white light.

"Second plan," I thought I heard Alfred say.

Then I heard an explosion. The repeated explosions from the battle made my ears ring, but I ignored it. I just wanted to see what was going on.

A sharp gust blew away the clouds, the remaining fire, and my hat.

June had her fists close to her face, hopping around like a boxer. An empty, gaping hole was in the ground next to her. In front of her was her target, the Ninjask.

Flying in the air.

Injured with a broken wing.

Next to a tree.

Outside of the arena.

Alfred was already climbing down from his Block. I was so excited that almost fell off mine coming down. The audience came running down the bleachers as well. I sprinted over to June.

"We won June! We won!" I hollered. She knew what a victory was. I slid onto my knees and embraced her as if she was the one thing that kept me going. She hugged me tightly, and nearly suffocated me. Her arms had become stronger. She let me go after she saw my skin turn a shade of blue. Jim came over and gave me a noogie. Following him were Chloe with their kids, and the Azalea town kids who were asking me all sorts of questions.

"Goddamn! That was amazing!" exclaimed Jim. "Me and Chloe were trying to figure out if you'd catch on to his audio cues."

Chloe shoved Jonas and Liz into Jim's arms and literally picked me up of my feet and gave me a kiss on my forehead, and then gave me a hug that cut off my circulation like June did.

"Ed, you are smart as hell. You'll get the six other badges for sure," she assured. Because of all the commotion, she couldn't hear the popping of one of my backbones.

"With that kind of performance, he may go all the way to the Leagues," said Alfred from behind. Chloe put me down. I turned to face him. He had an open hand out for me to shake.

"Good game, Ed. I am impressed."

I shook his hand. "Good game…Mister…Umm…"

"Please, just call me Alfred," he replied jubilantly. I just couldn't remember his last name, but whatever made him happy, I told myself.

He reached into his vest and undid one of the Hive Badges. He handed one to me. "You more than deserve it."

This badge felt different from the one Felicity gave me. This badge felt like it was given to me by someone who I genuinely defeated. This badge felt like a proper reward.

I showed the badge to June. I didn't know if she knew what it was, but she got excited still. I gave her a high five. Though she didn't give me one back, she was happy. She knew fives were good things.

"Oh nice, you found his hat," said Chloe to someone behind me.

I forgot that gust of wind blew it off my head. I turned around to thank the person. It would've been hard trying to find it in the indoor forest.

I was already happy from earning my second badge, but I became overjoyed seeing Rob handing my hat with Charizard eagerly swinging his flaming tail behind him. Rob's face was unshaven, but other than that, he looked exactly the same as he did back when I last saw him.

"Dude, you kicked _so_ much ass. That…was how you're supposed to fight. You will never hear me talk shit about that fight either. Not like I did back Violet. Nah. You deserve _so_ many props."

I snickered. "Hell yeah! And you know what?"

"What? Tell me!" he replied in his high-spirited nature.

"I got six more asses to kick! And I'm gonna go back to Violet and kick Felicity's ass!" I promised. "And then," my voice cracked, "I'm gonna go back home with all my badges and my Pokémon."

My vision became glossy from the tears I successfully held back. "And then, I'm going to brag so much to my family," I swore.

I earned my second badge.

"No alcohol?" Rob asked.

"Hell no!" Chloe snapped. "No drinking around the kids."

Jim snickered and gazed longingly at the ceiling. "I haven't drunk anything in such a long time. Chloe, you still owe me a beer."

Chloe rapidly blinked and leered at Jim beside her. "What do you mean?"

Jim slouched over and scratched his head. "Remember that time in Goldenrod when we snuck into that bar? What was it? Three and a half years ago? I bought you that beer."

Her eyes narrowed to slits. "We were dating."

Jim raised an eyebrow and gave a conniving smirk. "Yeah. Right."

Chloe animatedly defended herself and made everyone laugh. We all returned to Jim and Chloe's home after saying bye to the Alfred and the neighborhood kids and after I dropped off June and Shox at the Pokemon Center. Jim had said we'd celebrate while we walked back. Rob got anxious.

We sat around in the living room and talked instead while Liz and Jonas played on the floor. The couple were arguing on the couch. Rob pulled in a chair from the dining table and was laughing at the scene. I sat in the recliner, kicked up, staring at my badge cloth.

My badge cloth now had two badges. Next one up would be found in Goldenrod City.

"So Ed," Chloe asked, ignoring Jim's recollection, "how did you figure out Alfred's strategy with the Scizor?"

A rush of pride pumped through my blood. "I got lucky with a guess. I just noticed how Marco wouldn't use that crazy speed of his when Alfred was talking."

I leaned back and stuck my nose up in the air. "To be honest, I didn't even think it was going to work. I never imagined someone would train their Pokemon like that."

"I rarely run into it," Chloe said. "I can't imagine having a full party using audio cues to do strategies. I'll stick with telling my Pokemon what to do and have them do their own thing."

Rob balanced his chair on two legs while he pushed on the wall behind him. "Yeah, same. I don't even think he does anything like that in real battles."

Rob busted my balls over my first badge, and he almost did it again with a simple sentence. I opened my mouth to retaliate, but Alfred's strategy honestly was too easy to figure out. My pride deflated, but the victory still felt great.

"I want to get better," I admitted. I sat up and fiddled with my fingers on my lap. "I want to fight a gym leader or a Champion and have them fight me for real."

Rob smirked at me. "I told you already. Fight people on your level. They'll be serious. You'll be serious. You'll both get better."

"I was just about to say the same thing," Chloe replied. "Badges pretty much show skill level."

That was something I already knew, but never applied. The trainers I ran into when I was heading to Azalea didn't show off their badges, but it would be easier to size up someone if anyone could see how many Gyms they beat. Then, there was the possibility that a trainer would want to steal somebody's badges.

"I rarely see trainers keep their badges out," I said. "How am I supposed to know how good they are when they do that?"

"Easy," Rob said. "Ask."

That answer was annoyingly simple. "And what if they're trainers who just want to fight weaker people?"

"Run."

"I thought you couldn't run from trainer fights."

"So?"

"'So?'"

"If they're doing that, and if anyone's gonna try to steal your badges, you might as well break the rules."

His answers made my temple throb slightly. However, Rob made sense. People like Alfred couldn't be around all the time enforcing the rules.

Jim had been silently watching me and Rob go back and forth. "Rob, how many badges do you have? I didn't have that logic until I was almost done with my badges."

Rob sat his chair down and stared longingly at the floor. He hadn't said anything about himself the entire time. "I have eight. It's funny what had to happen for me to start seeing things like that."

"Ever did a Championship?" asked Chloe.

"Nah, but I will soon though. I'm thinking about trying out the Johto League one in February," he answered.

Jim frowned. "Johto? Why not Sinnoh? That one's in October."

Rob tugged on a strand of black hair over his eye. "I've been pretty on and off with my training. Sinnoh's too soon and I bet I wouldn't even pass the Victory Road. Seven months is the perfect amount of time."

All three of them talked about their high-leveled experiences as I sat in the background, both listening and thinking. Rob reminded me I'd been away from home for a month and a half.

Getting eight badges at this rate before school started was officially impossible.

My fingertips rubbed against the soft glossy surfaces of my badges. An exhale escaped my lungs, carrying with it a heavy weight.

-------

_Well, what did you think? Send a review!_


	13. Chapter XIII: Two Warnings

_---Author's Note----_

_SICK! I've been SICK! Damn swine flu or whatever it is around campus.... I was practically away from my computer for the longest time, so sorry for not uploading this chapter. After I post this one, I'm going to get ready to go to the hospital because I just coughed up a trace amount of blood...yet I feel better...._

_So, since I can't see that as being normal, I'm going to the hospital to get it checked out. Wish me luck. Also, read this chapter and review it!_

_-----------------------------_

Chapter XIII: Two Warnings_  
**An article from THE SAFFRON HERALD**_

_**"The Magical Mechanics of PokeBalls...Or Are They Really Magical?"  
-An Interview With Silph's Executive **__Poké Ball** Developer Finn Garland**_

_**by Terrance Booth**_

_**September 5th, 86th Cycle**_

_**Part 3**_

_"And now to address the one question that pops up each time the Waves are mentioned. And for the record, I am simply telling documented facts with no intention of offending anyone or anybody._

_Why do caught Pokemon normally obey their owner?_

_The answer is quite simple, especially compared to the explanation given on how returning a Pokemon to its ball works._

_Humans emit their own Wave, similar to how Pokemon do. The popular name for it is the Human Wave or the Metaphysical Homosapien Frequency (MHF). The former will be used in this article._

_When a human is in close enough proximity of an unused Pokeball (literally holding the ball), the Domini Waves inside will mimic the Human Wave, almost like an echo._

_A caught Pokemon's Natural Wave, therefore, will be in sync with the Human Wave. Because every individual human has their own wave, that Pokemon will be sync with that one person._

_When the Natural Wave and the Human Wave are in sync, the Pokemon and its owner tend to get along and cooperate._

_There are special cases revolving around this concept, but I can't speak of them. Not in this article."_

_~*~*~_

The TV came on exactly at 3:30 AM. My annoying, bickering conscience kept me sleeping light, so I shot up out of bed and hit the power button.

Little light came from the moon behind the blinds, just enough for me to get my clothes and shoes on. Then I slung my bag over my shoulder and tip-toed out the room to the front door.

I unlocked the door and stepped out, making sure to gently close it behind me. When the doorknob made a soft click, I snuck off the porch and dashed down the hill to town.

The streetlights guided me through the streets. Not a single light was on in the homes I ran past. My shoes sloshed in the gravel, making me pray that no one heard me.

Tonight was my last night in Azalea. Before Rob headed to the inn, we decided to leave in the morning and head to Goldenrod. At first, I was anxious to get out. But before I went to bed, I was putting my badge cloth in my backpack and the Zero Ball from Darius rolled out. The thought of Alfred killing off Dialgarice and her people had been in the back of my head when he mentioned he'd be leaving tomorrow.

That was yesterday.

Alfred had probably taken care of them by now. He had a whole week to do it. The thought, combined with my worn lungs, made me slow down to a trot.

Then, there was the chance that they weren't dead, which was why I was up in the middle of the night, going through the wooded edge of town.

Hearing the Kricketune and Hoothoot sing their natural songs filled me with security. I was the only person lurking in the darkness.

The chain-link gate was locked with a large padlock. The monolithic well behind it stood ominously shadowed against the moonlight. When I gripped the fence to climb, I remembered that the actual hole to the Slowpoke den was kept locked, too.

I cursed myself for being careless, but I reasoned it out. If the manhole was locked, then there was no way for me to get in and be a Samaritan and get involved in Champions' business.

_[Red Friend, you have come back!] _

She spoke in my thoughts. She was alive. I was relieved, but that meant I'd have to get in somehow if I were to not feel guilty leaving town. My eyes darted around the well in hopes of catching sight of Jim's Scyther waiting to sick me.

"Can you hear me?" I whispered. I knelt down as if I was on a secret mission, talking on a walkie-talkie.  
_  
[I can hear your mind, yes.] _

"Good." Now came the moment of truth. "There's this lock in front of me. I want to talk to you before I leave, but I can't get through. Do you think you can unlock it?"

A pause. I looked behind me to make sure nobody or nothing followed me.  
_  
[Keep staring at the device. It is a simple mechanism.] _

I held the lock in my hand and stared at it for her.  
_  
[Pull.] _

With a simple yank, the lock opened. I pushed the gate and sprinted to the well. There was no way the Scyther would catch me like he did before. The Pokémon in the woods fell deathly silent.

I slid into the well and glared at the rusty lock. The Scyther was probably gliding across the grass to me and brandishing its arms.

"Can you get this one too?"  
_  
[Pull.] _

I stuffed the lock and chain in my pocket and slid the cover over. My arms shook from how fast I tried to work. Sweat on my hands made climbing down into the cave frightening. Either I could've slipped and broke my neck on the well's floor, or the Scyther could've dived down the ladder and slashed my head off.

Above me, a shadow moved across the light.

My wet hands slipped. My body fell and the back of my head scraped against the close, rocky wall.

Fortunately, I was almost down the ladder. My left arm cushioned my fall. When I tried to push myself up, pain surged from my left shoulder. Something broke.

_[Red Friend, are you hurt? I will heal you.]_

The Scyther's buzzing echoed from the top of the ladder, and then cut itself short. Something was blocking the light from above. I was now running for my life down through the torch-lit cave. The mental picture of the Scyther's blood-speckled blade sticking out from my chest made me hustle, bouncing off the cold moist walls to stop myself from falling.

I tripped over a Slowpoke and landed on my face. The skin on my cheek tore against the rocky floor. I had made it to the den.

_[Red Friend, hurry to the pool. I will handle the Pest behind you.]_

I turned around.

Still in the tunnel, the Scyther was running low to the ground toward me with its wings closed. Its feet silently bounded against the floor like an assassin. How long had it been following me like that?

I scrambled up to my feet and climbed over Slowpoke and Slowbro. None of the Pokémon made the slightest response to my urgency.

I tripped over another Slowpoke and submerged into pitch black freezing water.

With what little breath I had in my lungs, I pushed myself to swim to the surface. The light from the torches coalesced with the water above me, twisting into blurry orange shapes that marked my chance of survival.

A great force from underneath brushed me to the side. I gasped from how sudden it was, letting water accidentally enter my lungs.

I covered my mouth and continued swimming upward. As I climbed, the water became warmer and strangely soothing. By the time my head broke through the surface, columns of steam rose from the pool. Beads of sweat ran down my head as I greedily heaved in the air.

A small current at my side pushed me. Dialgarice's immense arms were paddling, keeping her head above water. Other than her walking, this was the most movement I had seen her make.

She was staring blankly at a patch of ice splattered on the ceiling. A single translucent scythe was poked out of it.  
_  
[Pests have always been ignorant to my speech. So I froze it. It was on your tail.] _

I pulled myself out the water onto the edge. I threw my soaked backpack to my side and plopped myself on my back, remembering the reasons why I went through this ordeal and why it was worth it all. Expecting my shoulder to ache, I realized there was no pain.  
_  
[The well water has healed your injuries.] _

At first, I thought about how that was even possible, then I rubbed my face. No cuts. I rubbed the back of my head where I scraped against the wall falling. My palms were bloodless.

"Thank you," I breathed. The water, however, left my fatigue intact.

_[Now, what is it that you wish to talk with me about?]  
_  
I sat up and wiped sweat off my brow. A part of me believed she would tell me no, but I had went through too much to give up and walk out.

"I want to save you and your people," I said.

Dialgarice swam in place, looking like a pink giant bath toy with a shell for a crown.  
_  
[How do you plan to do this?] _

I opened up my backpack. Apparently, the material it was made of was waterproof because my money, my clothes, everything was dry. I took out the Zero Ball and held it out for her to see.

"With this."

She swam up close, as if to get a closer look at the ball. Her eyes remained blank and void.  
_  
[The capsule sings a familiar gospel. My mother sung this.] _

She made no sense to me. "I can put all of you in this ball. I can take you all somewhere far away from here. Probably in another river."

_[Wait. I made a mistake. My mother did not sing this. Not quite. This gospel sounds similar, but it laments. The one my mother sung was glorious and prideful. Where did you get this capsule?]  
_  
Her words made my teeth clench. "Does it matter? I can use it to get you all out of here."

_[The capsule sings an Arcean hymn. Did you go to Arcea? Did an Arcean give it to you?]  
_  
My temper reached its limit. "No. A human child gave it to me. Listen, I'm sorry, but I really want to help you. I know you told me that you want to die in this cave, but I'm giving you a chance out. Just tell me if you want me to leave."

_[Red Friend, I plan on waiting out my end in my home.]  
_  
I held back the temptation to call her a stupid bitch. "Then what about your people? Do they want to die in here with you to?"

_[I have already told you. Humans have conquered the world. We were bound to die anyway.] _

"You didn't answer my question."

_[Yes. We will remain here. There are no other places for us to live. We grew tired of searching.] _

She kept bringing up the whole 'we' thing. Last time I was in the well, I was given an explanation on how a Slowpoke's psychic ability is unlocked through a Shellder's venom. A Slowpoke next to my foot flipped over on his stomach. I saw that they were all bunched up against a wall.

"What if I save the young ones then? They can't even communicate with you really, can they? Do you want them to die with you?"

Dialgarice wasn't as quick to respond this time. Whether it was laziness her kind was known for or actual thought going on in her head, she made me conscious about the time. I had no clue how long I'd been away from Jim and Chloe's house. If I wasn't been back by the time they woke up (mainly Chloe), returning any time after would've been stupid.

_[You would do that?]_ The red gemstone in her crown glistened.

I nodded. "Yes." I stood up with the Zero Ball in hand.

_[Alright. Take them away from here. If they must die, then they must be given a chance to prosper elsewhere.] _

Those were the words were good enough for me. "Thank you. I promise that I'll find them a good home."

I tossed the Zero Ball into the bunch of Slowpoke. The ball cracked open and unleashed a great white light, enveloping all of the children. I covered my eyes against the brightness.

When the light died out, the ball closed and fell to the ground. Unlike other Poké Balls, the Zero Ball didn't bounce back and I had to fetch it.  
_  
[All of the children are singing the hymn. Will you be taking them to Arcea?]  
_  
She had let on that she didn't know Arcea was long gone and I definitely didn't have the heart to tell her. My plan was to let them out sometime soon while I got badges.

"No, somewhere better. Most likely somewhere up in the Northern woods. I'm heading North."  
_  
[It is too cold in the North. They must be in warmth.] _

"Then I'll take them South," I lied. I had figured I could just let them out anywhere there was water and land. My assumptions were annoyingly off. And even if I were to find another swamp or cave, they'd just be hunted again. The best place for them would be with a human, I concluded.  
_  
[Thank you, Red Friend. Your soul sings a pleasant and welcoming tune. It is no wonder that the creatures follow you.] _

"Thank you," I said. Her talk of singing souls completely lost me.

The patch of ice that froze the Scyther dripped water on my head. Time was going.

"I must hurry and go now, but I may not see you again. So I wish you farewell, Lady Dialgarice." I forced myself to bow. Being this respectful under crunch time was difficult.  
_  
[Yes. Farewell, Red Friend. And thank you.] _

I put the Zero Ball in my backpack and walked by all the Slowbro to the exit. Then I realized I was leaving the Scyther in the well. Before I could even turn around to ask Dialgarice about it, she was speaking in my head.  
_  
[I will take care of the Pest. I know that it belongs to the Green Friend. He will have it back before I am gone. Make sure to lock up.] _

And I did so. I climbed out of the cave and was welcomed to the violet and orange dawn sky. I locked up the manhole and the gate, and jetted to Jim and Chloe's house.

As I ran through town, a deep sorrow hit me. Dialgarice was going to die, and she didn't want to save herself. She had the intelligence to do so, and no doubt she had the power, but she gave up all because humans control Pokémon? She didn't have to do that. A good trainer could've taken care of her.

When I reached the hill in front of Jim and Chloe's house, I grasped what I had just thought.

Perhaps that was why she chose death. Belonging to a human when she could've been free probably wasn't what she desired. To her, it was either freedom of her people or death.

I opened the front door and gently locked it behind me. Then I snuck back to the living room and threw my clothes off. I was asleep the moment I laid in bed.

I had only gotten a few snores in when Jim woke me up to tell me Rob was at the house.

~*~*~*

Saying farewell to Jim and Chloe was tough, but I promised I'd visit them again when I happened to be around Azalea in the future. Chloe gave me a peck on my lips that turned my face deep red. Jim and Rob found it hilarious, while she found it cute. Jim handed me a thick envelope with eight hundred dollars for getting the Hive Badge. After stuffing it in my backpack, I gave him a handshake and gave him and his whole family farewells.

As we went to the Center to pick up my Pokémon and followed the main road through the Ilex Forest, Rob refused to shut up about Chloe kissing me.

"Dude, man, she had a rack on her and _she kissed you?_ God, I _know_ you're gonna be beating off when we set camp."

"Just imagine if she kissed you for real, like with tongue. I would've fucked both of you right then. I don't give a damn what you think."

"I bet Jim liked that or he wanted to kick your ass. They must fuck every day. Imagine this – nine months from today, little Jonas and Liz will have a baby brother or sister."

How I missed Rob's persistently annoying ass.

The forest was larger than I thought. By the time we got out, dusk had fallen. The ocean to the west took up the horizon, sharing the same pink hue as the sky with yachts and cargo ships sailing. To the North, shadowed skyscrapers speckled with lights, all surrounded by a fair glow from all the light pollution.

Goldenrod City was beautiful.

We set camp on the shore. Walking around barefoot on the sand made me reminisce about my childhood when my family took me and Gavin to the Hoenn beaches. We would dig up baby Krabby and throw them into the water. Gavin said we were doing them a favor by teaching them how to swim.

Rob was out waist-deep in the water, fishing with some fancy fishing rod he could squeeze into a small tube. He bragged about it being labeled 'The Good Rod.'

"I have a better Rod, but we'd probably end up running for lives from whatever I caught with it," he said.

Night came. We had two Goldeen tied to sticks on top of a fire Charizard set. Rob somehow got me talking about how sexy Chloe was. I told him about how I was checking her out when she trained me. Rob fell out when I told him how she asked me if I could pick her clothes out to wear to the gym.

Rob was good company.

"But yeah, it's messed up how that Champion took over," Rob said. I was talking to him about the gym fight.

By this time, I realized that Dialgarice and the Slowbro were dead. The thought stooped into a sulk. Charizard nudged my back with his snout.

"What's wrong?" Rob asked.

I explained why Alfred was in Azalea. Rob listened intently.

"That sucks. She's dead because people were afraid of her?" he asked. "Stupid-ass people. She should've dropped that whole 'we gotta die' attitude and fought back."

Now was the best time to tell him. "Well, I did do something about it. Sort of."

A smile stretched across Rob's face. Anyone pulling something over on a Champion was the best music in his ears. "What? Tell me!"

I took out the Zero Ball and handed it to Rob. His expression dropped.

"What's in here?" he asked. The gleefulness in his voice was replaced with what sounded like disappointment.

"The Slowpoke. She didn't want me taking her or the Slowbro. Just the kids. I gotta figure out where to let them out."

"Who gave this to you?" he rudely demanded, glaring at the ball. "Do you have any more of them?"

"A kid named Darius and no," I snapped. "What the hell's your problem?"

"Did you join Team Zero? They're the ones who use these. You went in front of a Champion with this on you? Are you out of your goddamn mind?"

That last bit struck a nerve in me. "No, I didn't join Team Zero. A bunch of kids let their Pokémon run wild and I ran into them and-"

"What do you mean 'run wild'?" he interrupted. He lost all color in his face.

"The girl. Anne. She let her Arbok run around to eat and it attacked me. That's when I met them."

"Did it come out of a Zero Ball?"

I shook my head. "No, I think it was her starting Pokémon."

Rob sighed in relief. "Good." He handed me back the ball. When I took it, he lightly grabbed my shoulders.

"Alright, Ed, listen to me. When we get inside Goldenrod, promise me you'll do these two things."

His dark eyes sparkled from the fire. I nodded cautiously as a part of me could've slugged him in his jaw. "Yeah, sure."

"First thing, don't tell anyone that you were forced to be a trainer. There are people who kidnap trainers and the Amber Act gives them a ton of selection. Most forced trainers suck ass with Pokemon, so they're seen as easy targets.

"And second, don't tell anyone that you had a Zero Ball. Goldenrod is filled with Champions and Team Zero members at the moment. The Metagross Alfred had, it can sense Zero Balls. You were lucky you didn't have it on you when you fought him.

"You understand me?" he finished.

I pushed his arms off me. "You could've been more civilized about it, but yeah, I understand."

"Sorry," he apologized. "You almost fucked up. I don't want you fucking up."

When the Goldeen were done roasting, we ate in awkward silence. My mind was raging. Rob pulled an asshole move, telling me what to do like that. Who did he think he was? My guardian? I scoffed at the thought as I pulled bones out my mouth. He didn't want me fucking up, then he could've at least talked to me with sense.

But still, I was thankful. Last time I was in Goldenrod, I was a toddler with my family. Now I'd be going back as a Trainer and I didn't need whatever happened in Azalea in that hotel with the trainer happen to me. Or anything like it.

When he set up his sleeping bag and I crawled in my tent, he asked me if I was sleep. When I told him no, he apologized.

When I accepted it, he asked me if I was going to beat off to Chloe. I didn't answer back.

~*~*


	14. Chapter XIV: The Smart One

_---Author's Note---_

_Here's Chapter 14. I would've posted it yesterday, but I was a bit occupied. I decided to not go to the hospital since there's an outbreak of the swine flu on campus. It would be ironic as hell if I ended up catching it by going to the hospital lol _._

_Hope you enjoy this one. Read and review!_

_--------------------------_

Chapter XIV: The Smart One

_Combusken is a Pokémon that trains so that when it evolves, it has all the power and strength it needs. It has a feather crest on top of its head with three points. It also seems that it wears a long-sleeved jacket. It has bulging thighs that seem big compared to its body ratio. Their legs are capable of devastating kicks and it has three razor-sharp claws that can cut down trees in a single slash._

Because it trains, this Pokémon has an aggressive nature. However, it doesn't attack humans or weaker Pokémon unless provoked. However, it will challenge other Combusken, Blaziken, and other Fighting types.

...

Combusken is named for its ability to combust air particles at certain distances. Because its internal flame is enlarged upon evolution, Combusken must release the heat or else it itself will overcome 1500 Fahrenheit and combust. The energy is released through its beak and hands and is popularly used by Trainers. The ability for a Combusken to combust air particles is fully controlled by the Combusken itself, and it tends to use this ability when agitated.

As with all Fire-types, Combusken passively absorb heat. Thus, releasing energy is a form of circulation. When it becomes a Blaziken, its body will be able to control the internal flame and the rate it absorbs heat directly. 

-Oak's Pocket Monster Index; 35th International Edition

~*~*~*

The following morning, Rob decided it would be funny to pull me out of my tent by my feet. The sand getting caught in my nose woke me up.

"Rise and shine," he cheekily announced. "Today, I get you into Goldenrod without nobody getting arrested."

Charizard was at the edge of the beach, holding the flaming tip of his tail in hand and snapping at fish in the water. Rob grandly pointed over to him. "And we'll be riding this forever hungry guy!"

I stood up and put my clothes on. "Ride him to avoid getting arrested? What are you talking about?"

"I'm just going to take care of that Zero Ball you have," he answered. "If we fly, there's less of a chance that a Metagross will sense it. We gotta make it to the Apartment District, and getting there on foot's too risky."

"You've been in Goldenrod?" I asked, starting to fold up my tent.

"While you were in Azalea," he replied, "I was going back and forth between the city and Ecruteak helping my brother out with a few things."

After stuffing my tent in my backpack, Rob called Charizard over to us. He hopped on the dragon's orange back and tossed it his bag. Charizard's jaws caught it by the straps.

"Climb on," he said. "Hold on to me tight. I really don't want to have my Charizard make a loop-de-loop to catch you. I get dizzy easy and the last time I threw up on him, he gave up flying for a week."

The thought of flying on a Pokémon was both scary and awesome. Back when I was in Violet, I envied the trainers who rode their bird Pokémon. Yet, the only time I ever flew at all was on an airliner to Hoenn as a kid.

Now, I was going to fly because of the Zero Ball.

Rob gave me hand and I pulled myself up. Making sure my arms were tightly wrapped around him, I put my legs over his. Then I remembered my hat and immediately put it in my backpack.

"Good," he said. "I would've been pissed if you lost it. It cost me too much money." He gripped the base of Charizard's neck. "You ready?"

From where we stood, the skyscrapers were as tall as my hand. ""Sure," I muttered, staring at the skyline. "I'm not afraid of heights, but how long will we be flying?"

Rob sighed. "I dunno, but it'll be fun. So, you have anything you want to whine about before we leave the ground?"

His snide comment completely blindsided me. I wanted to ask what he was implying, but now wasn't the time for us to get angry at each other again.

He chuckled. "I'm just kidding. No need to look so confused. We're cool, man. I just like to burst your bubble sometimes, so you can know how you make others see you."

Having it pushed in my face like that was irritating. But as much as I didn't want to admit it, he did pinpoint an issue. "Let's just go."

Rob nodded with a smirk. With two kicks, Charizard jumped into the air and gave his wings a mighty flap. Rob had to snatch my arm to stop me from falling too far back.

"Grab my vest and hold tighter," he said. Charizard's powerful wings beat against the air. We rose. When we got high enough that the beach below looked like a beige strip of paper, Charizard lurched toward the city. The air hitting my face forced me to look to the side, down at a large freeway that led straight to Goldenrod.

"They wish they could catch air like us," shouted Rob from the air pressure. "When we get into the city, the wind won't be so bad cause of the buildings!"

He gave Charizard another kick, causing his wings to narrow. We shot through the air. I held onto Rob for dear life as his hair kept slapping my face.

Despite everything below looking like toy models, I found flying quite exciting. Rob was lucky to have Charizard. I wondered if I'd be lucky to catch my own flying Pokémon that was large enough to carry me.

We were in the city limits before long and Charizard slowed down to a glide. Skyscrapers gleamed off the golden sunlight with millions of windows down an avenue. Though the sight was postcard-worthy, the windows gave a terrifying, yet exciting estimate on how high up we were.

"This place's nice. I wish I could live here," Rob admired.

I figured since he was making small talk, now was the best time to mention what he said earlier. "So I come across as whiny?" I asked.

"Sometimes," he answered. "Or, you used to. Now, you're actually pretty fun."

His light view of my predicament irked me. "Well, how else do you expect someone to act when they're kicked out their home?"

Rob had Charizard slowly ascend to the rooftops. "I'm not saying you shouldn't have reacted the way you did. Yeah, anyone else would've. But it's just something that gets to me."

"What gets to you?"

"People changing. Improvement. I believe if you could go back in time…wait…" He paused, thinking over his words. "I believe if you could go back in time, you wouldn't."

I expected him to say something about me going back in time to change things. "What makes you say that?"

He lightly snickered. "Because, you care about June and Shox. And I bet you're gonna care about that Scyther once you let him out. I just think that you like Pokémon. I think that you like Pokémon so much that your reason for getting eight badges will change as much as you've changed."

Rob's forwardness forced me to acknowledge that some of what he said was right. I did care about June and Shox, and chances were that I'd care about my Scyther too. Pokémon did somewhat interest me because of how varied the creatures were.

As for the eight badges, my goal was to get them so I wouldn't be forced to stay a trainer. I didn't see that goal changing any time soon.

"Well, you're actually right about some of the stuff you said," I told him, "but I don't see other reasons why I'd want to get badges."

"To see how gym leaders train their Pokémon," Rob replied. "To see what kind of Pokémon they have. Hell, probably become a Champion. But then, you and I would have some beef."

I chuckled at the idea of me being like Alfred. "I doubt that's going to happen. They seem way too stuck up."

Rob nodded. "I agree. My brother's an asshole. He follows and enforces the laws as if he'll die if he doesn't."

The giant skyscrapers had changed into a mix of smaller buildings that were more spread apart with concrete lots, wooded parks, and playgrounds. Rob dived and landed Charizard in front of an apartment building in the middle of a complex. People walking around stopped what they were doing and watched us before shrugging us off.

"You know someone who lives here?" I asked Rob.

"A good friend. She'll give us somewhere to stay and take care of our Slowpoke problem," he said, looking over his shoulder at all the people.

We climbed up the concrete stairs to the door. Next to it was a list of last names with numbers next to them. Underneath were a number pad and a speaker. Rob plugged in 306 and hit the pound key.

A few seconds later, somebody answered.

"Hello?" A meek, young female voice spoke.

"Miss me Nina?" shouted Rob into the machine. "Me and my...err…" he looked back at me, and mouthed 'protégé?' I shrugged and he continued. "Protégé. Me and my protégé need some help with something I know you'd love to handle, and we also need somewhere to spend some nights. I told you I'd be back."

Her voice picked up and she chuckled. "Rob, you honestly crack me up. Come on in."

The door buzzed and Rob opened it. "Get ready to meet one of the coolest people ever."

As he led me through the lobby and we waited in the elevator, he explained he met Nina Marke when venturing around Kanto. He ambiguously mentioned that they had something between them, but he didn't stick to the subject. Instead, he talked about how she was the smartest person he had ever known.

We got off the elevator and Rob knocked on door 306. The sound of a latch being undone clicked and a teenage girl wearing black-rimmed glasses with wiry brown hair opened the door, wearing a wide smile across her peach face and rosy lips. A small mole was next to her lips on the left.

"You caught me right before I started studying," she said. Her voice had a slightly apathetic tone, but her face showed plenty of joy from seeing Rob.

"Nice," Rob remarked, "we wouldn't want you nerding out too fast. Would we, Ed?"

Rob addressing me caught me off guard. I forced good humor. "Yeah. But I don't see anything wrong with that though. If she has to study, then study." I shrugged.

She giggled. "Enforcing someone to further their education? You're already more of a humanitarian than Rob is."

Nina held out her hand. "I'm Nina."

I shook it. "Ed, but you already knew that."

"Awesome," Rob interjected. "You two know each other. Now, can we come in? I rode my Charizard here and my crotch is literally aching. Can we all sit down?"

Nina let us in. Computer equipment was littered all around the apartment, making it seem smaller than what it was. Her tiny kitchen had modem cases stacked on the counter and dinner table. A pile of documents sat in front of a sleek, large flat screen TV. A laptop sat on a couch along with several thick textbooks. In a corner, a few beanbag chairs were bunched up. Nina pulled out the biggest one and plopped down on it.

She pointed to the couch. "You can put all that stuff on the floor. And while you're doing that, you can tell me what you need help with."

Rob and I cleaned off her couch and took a seat. Rob handled the talking. "Yeah. Ed happened to run into some Team Zero recruits and they gave him a Zero Ball. I was wondering if you could get rid of it for us."

What? Get rid of it? Dispose of it? Was this his plan all along? I sat up straight. "I used it already. There's Slowpoke I promised to move. What do you mean by 'get rid of it'?"

Rob shot a hand up to his mouth. "Oh, damn! Sorry. I didn't mean to word it like that." He chuckled nervously and glared at Nina for a saving grace.

"You've never used your Box, Ed?" Nina asked, unfazed.

I blinked, taking a few seconds to remember what she was talking about. Rob had mentioned something about Boxes before I left Violet. "No. I don't have a reason to."

"Well," she started, "Rob is just asking me to put them in a Box. A trainer saying they're going to 'get rid of' one or some of their Pokémon, it's safe to assume they're putting them in a Box."

Rob nodded. "Yeah, I do it all the time. My Pokémon eat a lot. Six of them would be too much."

Them mentioning the number six was curious. Gavin told me about it once upon a time ago. "There's a certain number of Pokémon someone can carry at once right? They . . . teleport or something, right? Once you have more than six on you?"

"Yeah," Nina said. "It's a program called the PTN. Pokémon Transfer Network. Once your Trainer ID is registered with it, the Network keeps track of what Pokémon you have on your person. Six is considered the highest amount of Pokémon a person can have in their possession to feed and take care for efficiently. Also, six is considered the maximum amount before the person is considered a substantial threat."

Her words woke something up in me. From time after time, people would say that I was oblivious to things happening in the word. With what she explained, Nina made me want to figure out what those things were. And she definitely seemed to know her stuff. I ended up asking her more questions about what went on in the world and she was more than willing to answer. We were really hitting it off.

After being silent for a while, Rob gave a loud fake snore. Nina and I stopped our conversation.

"Goddamn, you two," he said. "You guys are talking about the most boring shit. Nina, don't you have studying to do? Classes tomorrow?"

"Shut up Rob," Nina shot back. "I'm sorry you never learned how to learn but that doesn't mean you have to be a rude immature bitch when there are people who _like_ to learn." She gave me a brief smile.

Her words stunned me. I couldn't tell if she was serious or not about Rob or me.

Rob hollered in laughter. "Yeah well, I know enough. I get around." He got up and headed to the door.

Nina rolled her eyes. "So you're going to leave for whatever reason and vaguely explain yourself, like you usually do?"

He nodded with a wide grin. Now I couldn't even tell if he was serious or not until he started unlatching the door. "Yep. See ya!"

"Where are you going?" I piped.

"Somewhere," he answered. "Was that vague enough?"

"Sure was," Nina said.

"Good. Nina, make sure you have your Honchkrow out while you have that ball," Rob said, opening the door and stepping out.

"Oh wait! One more thing," he sang, stopping himself. He turned around and ran back into the room, and then shocked Nina by pulling her up to her feet. Before she could say anything, he planted a deep kiss on her lips. Nina's face became redder than a Cherubi's and her brown eyes were wide open from how sudden Rob was.

He broke it off, gave her a wink, gave me a cheesy smile as if to say "That's how you do it" and ran out the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

Nina was petrified and her face stayed red, staring at the door.

"You OK?" I asked, genuinely worried about her.

My voice snapped her back into reality. She seemed to have forgotten I was in the apartment. She sulked. "Yeah, I'm fine. Come with me to the Library. It's near the city's Pokémon Gym. I'm sure you'll be interested."

With the way she spoke, it was like she was ashamed. Perhaps Rob fooled around with her too. But I will admit, the way he pulled her up and kissed her made me admire him slightly.

The first thing she did was go into her bedroom and come back with a Poké Ball. She let out a fat black bird that hopped onto the couch. The feathers on its head looked strangely like a fancy hat, and the tuft of white underneath its large orange beak gave the impression of an undershirt.

I took out my PokéDex and scanned it.

_"Honchkrow. If one utters a deep cry, many Murkrow gather quickly. For this, it is called "Summoner of Night,"_ the Dex explained.

"Awesome, I haven't seen anyone use a PokéDex in a while," Nina said, rubbing underneath the Honchkrow's beak and placing the Zero Ball in the chair. The bird was unnervingly silent, glaring about the room with its eerily human eyes and lifting up its wide wings to clean the red undersides.

Nina got her books and computer in a backpack and we left the apartment, leaving the Honchkrow out in the room. She explained that Dark-type Pokémon are able to mask Zero Balls from Metagross, and that the ball was safe. When I asked her why, our intellectual conversation started over again as we got on the subway. Nina told me about how Poké Balls were made, and then tried to add talk about waves. She giggled when she confused me, saying I'd get it sooner or later.

She said that she went to school and studied these things. When she told me she was only sixteen, I was speechless. Nina had skipped two grades back when she used to live in Kanto. She explained that she worked in various oddjobs to save up enough money to live in Goldenrod and attend an engineering school. And now, she was in the middle of summer school.

When we reached the library, I had to bend my back to see how giant and grand the building was. The columns made it seem like it stepped out of an ancient Human civilization. She handed me her library card and told me to knock myself out while she studied.

"You can do whatever you want like leave the library, but meet me at the entrance at 5," she said. Then playfully grabbed my ears and pulled, speaking with a cutesy voice. "And then Mama's gonna take you back home!"

I poked her soft stomach through her black shirt. "Well, whatever happened to all my brothers and sisters?"

She sharply yanked my ears, chuckling. "You have jokes, Ed, but let's keep the weight ones away until we've known each other for more than a day."

Nina wasn't skinny, but she managed to still look cute and more attractive than a lot of girls I had the hots for and could easily pass for someone who was fit. She didn't flaunt herself though. If anything, she probably had some insecurities since she dressed plainly with a black shirt and jeans with generic faded red sneakers.

However, I could see why Rob called her cool. And to keep my wife from killing me once she reads this book, I'll shut up about her.

We entered the library and she went off upstairs. The library completely killed the one back in New Bark. It seemed like there were miles of aisles of books about everything. Using the catalog computer, I looked up books about being a trainer and set out to find them.

_Why Trainers Battle_ was the only one I couldn't find. Carrying the rest of the books, I parked myself at a large wooden table in an isolated corner of the library and started looking up my own Pokémon in _Oak's Pocket Monster Index; 35th International Edition.  
_  
"May I see that book when you're done?" whispered a guy beside me. Roughly my own age, his finely brushed dirty blonde hair and his proper Sevii island accent told me he frequented the library a lot. _Why Trainers Battle_ was in front of him.

"I'll trade you this book for that one you have there," I offered. We made the switch.

"I don't see why they only have one copy of _Why Trainers Battle_," he said. "The book is always gone. They should order more books, or put it online. It's an old book. You can smell the pages, and only old books have that weird smell."

I agreed with everything he said. "This book must have some good info in it then."

He flipped through the pages of the PokéDex. "I found it boring. It talks too much about history and no strategies. The bloke should've written a book called _How Trainers Battle_."

I snickered at his opinion, though I respected it. _Why Trainers Battle_ immediately hooked me when it talked about the origins of the Trainer. To avoid any awkwardness with him, I introduced myself. "I'm Ed."

"Riley," he huffed. He harshly flipped through the pages. "493 Pokémon, and that's divided into hundreds of thousands of species? And we can't even get like twelve or some off-key number like that because they're considered 'Legendary'. Makes you figure why they even consider them Pokémon."

Riley told me he was training in the City Gym so he could get his fifth badge, but the challenge was difficult.

"There's no Gym Leader there," he explained. "It's just a bunch of run-of-the-mill trainers battling each other with officials at the sidelines. The officials sort you out and whoever wins gets the badge. You can fight the officials, but they only use Normal-type Pokémon. And Normal-type Pokémon are so stupid to fight, unless, well, you have a Fighting-type. Fighting-types own Normal and the only Pokémon I have that can use Fighting moves is sick."

Fighting-type? Felicity mentioned that June would turn to one. A Rotom lit up in my head.

"Riley, could you look up Torchic for me please? What does it evolve to?" I asked.

He flipped toward the middle of the book and scanned for a few seconds. "Torchic evolves to Number Two-Two-Five Combusken, a dual type. Fire and Fighting. Apparently, Combusken are highly aggressive with their physical attacks and…. Wow. They can combust air at will due to the unstable amount of energy they build up when agitated. I really should catch me one of these."

His words came second to my anxiousness. "Can you show me where the Gym is?"

_----_

_Hope you liked it. I've started on Chapter 18, so the story's still going. Read and review!_


	15. Chapter XV: Never Saw It Coming

_--Author's Note--_

_Shortest chapter so far. I'll post the next one tomorrow. Things pick up._

_----_

Chapter XV: Never Saw It Coming…

_"I didn't like him. The Zero before him was a good leader. This one was a wuss. A chicken. It took a long time for him to man up and handle business. The only big thing he did was at Indigo Plateau during the attacks, and even then he just sat around like a bitch, I heard._

_Some leader." - Anonymous _

~*~*

After telling Nina to pick me up from the Gym after she was done studying, Riley took me to Goldenrod's Pokémon Gym. The building was shaped like an immense Poké Ball lid, bigger than both the gym and Pokémon Center in Violet. The electric slide doors represented the center of a real Poke Ball, and every time they opened, the lights inside turned soft pink.

Going through the entrance, all I could say was "Wow...." My eyes automatically took in everything. Below our walkway, Pokémon battle plots lined the interior, each with their own automated bleachers and blocks. Pokémon were locked up in the plots with their trainers, fighting other trainers and their Pokémon. As colorful and as varied as the Pokémon and trainers were, the thick glass around them blocked out all the sound.

A bunch of men and women wearing bright yellow windbreakers were gathered on the largest, central platform. Tables and desks at the edge were covered in documents, Poké Balls, and healing items. One of the people, a pudgy balding man with thick arms and grey hair sat on one of the tables scanning a clipboard. When he looked up and saw us, he got up and headed toward Riley and I.

"Riley! My friend! How's that Swampert of yours doing?" he asked while he shook Riley's hand vigorously. His voice was hoarse, yet fast. He reminded me of those actors in mafia movies.

"He's getting better. I never knew a Swampert could break an arm. It goes against a lot of things I learned about the species," he sighed, "but, yeah, he's getting better."

The two talked about the battle Riley's Pokémon got injured in, and then Riley introduced me to the man.

"Mr. Kimbell, this is Ed. Ed, this is Mr. Kimbell. He'll get you set up with a battle."

The man took my hand and shook my entire arm. A gold tooth sparkled unnervingly in his wide grin. "Ed? Marvin Kimbell! You're a trainer? Interested in getting the Plain Badge?"

All I could do was nod. Words stumbled out of my mouth from how the guy was forcing his welcome. "Yeah."

He tapped both my shoulders. "Alright then! I'll get you signed up. Do you want to fight a coordinator or another trainer? In Goldenrod, we give trainers the option since Normal type Pokémon have very unique abilities and require _very_ different strategies than those needed for other Pokémon."

It was his word against what I learned at the library. Nothing was going to be lost anyway and I was high off a Gym Leader winning streak. "Coordinators use only Normal Pokémon right? I want to fight one. I have two badges already."

He looked over the clipboard he had, going over it with a pen from his pocket. "Alright…I have a slot four days from now…Wednesday, August 6th at 6:30 PM. I'm just going to put you down for that. That's good?"

Three days of training would be perfect. "Yeah, thanks. And what about the Gym Leader? I don't have to fight him or her?"

Mr. Kimbell chortled. "Mr. Honda is a businessman with all kinds of work. He doesn't even work in the gym. He manages its needs all the way in Cianwood and lives in his fancy hotel."

"I think he runs The Grand Bastion. I've seen it. Really something," Riley chirped in.

After that, Riley and I left the gym to go back to the library and I introduced him to Nina. When Riley said he'd train with me at some battle plots near the Gym, Nina offered to take me with her to the library every day. It was a plan.

The next three days were routine. Nina had me sleep on the couch in front of her big screen TV since she had the only bedroom. Rob never came back after waltzing out on the first day and I didn't even stop to think about what he could be doing. After Azalea Town, I decided nothing good came from worrying about him. Nina would make a joke or two about him being an idiot somewhere else. Most of the time, she'd tell me more about some more stuff about the technology used for Pokémon. The fact that she was cool and attractive made me develop a light crush I kept to myself.

I didn't talk to her about her and Rob, but I didn't want to have Rob's leftovers. Besides, the age gap between us was three years.

Riley met up with me at the library and we'd head out. The battle plots reminded me of the basketball courts in my old school. Concrete, surrounded by buildings, the sun beaming down at me and Riley like it was happy to see us outside. Other trainers were with their Pokémon practicing on their own plots, though there was always one open fortunately for us.

My goal was to train June to put the beat down on anything. Riley had gotten his Swampert back from the Pokémon Center and came up with a good idea. June and his Swampert would spar, but not use any of their fire or water. His Swampert, despite all the faith I had in June, could've destroyed her. When he first let it out, I jumped slightly at how beastly it looked. It hunched over on its massive blue forearms and its beady yellow eyes seemed to glow in contrast to its blue face and fins. Though its mouth was closed, its lips stretched from one side of its head to the next, giving the impression of a naturally devious grin.

"His name's Bobo," Riley said on the first day. Bobo was taller than Riley and rested his head on top of his in a guarding manner, watching the other Pokémon around us. "A big ol' Snorlax fell on his arms and broke both of them. But as you can see, he's better now."

While June and Bobo fought fist to fist in a corner, me and Riley used our other Pokémon. He had a Pidgeotto, a brown-spotted Ponyta with a Mohawk of flames, and a tiny dancing Bellosom with a bright summer yellow skirt of leaves.

This was the perfect opportunity to finally use the Scyther I had caught. Unlike how June wanted to protect me and Shox wanted to fool around, Scyther immediately buzzed off onto the top of a warehouse next to the battle plots and basked in the sun. I returned him because I felt he was going to run away, and then I let him out again. He flew back to the warehouse.

The fact that he had wings meant he could go anywhere. None of my other Pokémon could fly, which made Scyther a whole new level a nuisance for me. "Hey Riley, could you make Pidgeotto mess with Scyther?" I asked, forcing my temper down. Riley snickered at me as he commanded his Pidgeotto to fly up to the basking bug.

My plan to get Scyther irritated worked better than I expected. As soon as the bird pecked on Scyther's head, he flailed his scythes at it.

"Hell yeah! Get'em!" I shouted. Scyther was actually fighting. When the Pidgeotto swooped back down to the plots, Scyther leaped and glided after it. Me and Riley decided that we'd let the chase continue the first day, and it went on for a good hour before the Pidgeotto decided to go all out on the Scyther. I returned him.

The second day, Scyther stayed with me on the ground, allowing me to gently scratch its head. Some of its exoskeleton collected underneath my fingernails, but Scyther didn't seem to mind. He battled the Pidgeotto in an impressive aerial duel that made the other trainers stop their own training and watch. Though the Pidgeotto wore him out, I made sure to congratulate Scyther. He reciprocated by allowing me to scratch his head again.

The third day, Scyther had a basic understanding of my commands, but not anything complex like I could tell June and Shox. All of the wave theory stuff Nina talked about was happening between me and Scyther, which made the moment even more awesome.

Scyther fougt the Pidgeotto again. After an even more impressive air duel, the bird managed to ram Scyther in the gut and winded him instantly, enough to knock him onto the ground and bounce across the asphalt.

When I ran up to him, I saw that Scyther had a several nicks and parts of his exoskeleton peeled off. That was enough for me to end the fight. He was getting better, but I'd have to let him out more. Because of how the Pidgeotto managed to make little cuts on Scyther, and because Scyther ironically had scythes for arms, I decided to call him Nick.

***

The fourth day came faster than Dodrio mail. Nina decided to do some late night studying in the library so she could ride with me on the subway. She didn't want me in it alone.

"One day, I gotta see how Rob's _'protégé' _plays. He may be a disappointing douche, but he's a hellishly good trainer," she told me.

I watched the dark Goldenrod City skyline through the window across me. The towers were lit up by windows and giant spotlights from below. The Radio Tower stood the tallest, with a series of spotlights pointing up at it. Instead of stars, tiny red and white lights speckled across the tops of the skyscrapers.

"What's good about him?" I asked. "I've only seen two of his Pokémon. And I've only seen one actually fight. His Charizard."

"He's strategic," she answered. She tried to hold back the dreaminess in her voice. She looked down and blushed. "I think he keeps his Charizard since it was his first Pokémon. He tends to use it a clutch if his other Pokémon don't win the battles."

I stopped to wonder if I'd use June the same way. "How does he use his other Pokémon?"

She snickered softly, still downcast. Her fingers played with her backpack's strap. "He doesn't really tell them anything. Right after he throws them out, they just do their thing. But they just don't attack like I see most Pokémon do." Nina raised her head up at me with a smirk. "You're interested in fighting him?"

"Wha-? No," I hastily replied. "He'd demolish me. He has eight badges and I'm only about to get my third. I'm just looking for some tips to use in the future."

"Then why don't you ask him?" she asked. "I'm sure he'd be happy to help."

She made a good point, but my true intentions showed their face. "He has helped me, but he's never around. And besides, to be honest, he's weird as hell now that I think about it."

Nina howled in laughter, making the other passengers look at us. She held her sides. "Oh God that was funny! The way you said that, so to the point!" She breathed, "So funny. Oh my god."

She calmed herself down. "He just has a lot of responsibilities he tends to. He doesn't like telling anyone his business." Her voice fell to soft melancholy, "That aloofness of his is him telling people not worry."

"And it sounds like you worry a lot," I pointed out, letting my curiosity take over. Seeing her like this way made me resent Rob and his sleeping around. Nina seemed like a good enough girl.

"Yeah," she said, deflated. "Me and Rob are kind of off and on. He sort of does his own thing. And I do mine."

She closed her eyes and exhaled, and then perked up. "So, you're going for your third badge?"

If she hadn't have changed the subject, the ride to the gym would've been too awkward.

At the station, we got off the subway to find Riley sitting on a bench drinking a soda, goggling some scantily clad girls around my age, arm in arm with men that were older than my dad. I wondered if they were trainers, with the amount of make up on their face and their partially exposed asses in cut jean shorts. One passed by me. With a seductive, furtive face, she dragged a finger across my bottom lip as she walked away. I automatically turned around to watch her walk away with her oblivious man, the sounds of her high heeled sandals on knocking against concrete.

"You might wanna find some rubbing alcohol and wipe your mouth," Nina half-jokingly said. Even if I thought she was right, my hormones were raging. Riley came up to us.

"Are you ready?" he said, trying giving me five but missing my hand. He was captivated by the girl like I was.

"What the fuck?" Nina murmured. "Could you two teenage boys _stop_ being teenage boys? It's not good to want another man's trash. Remember that."

***

Nina left us to study in the library. Riley and I headed to the gym. Though it was only nearly half past six, the city's nightlife was fully awake. Streaks of red and white lined down the streets. The skyscrapers dominated all of the sky with their yellow windows that probably reached beyond the clouds. Above was beautiful, but below was a reality-stricken underbelly. The scent of alcohol mixed with smoke trailed behind people going to clubs, both legit and hidden away in alleys. Everyone who wore a suit was getting in their parallel parked car and drove into the backed up street.

The smell of all of the pollution made me stoked. I was in my birthplace. I could do anything. This was where my family got along the most, where I felt the love and never had to question it. As depressing as the memory was, I straightened up and entered the gym with Riley. With June, Shox, and Nick at my side, the third badge was easily ours.

The gym was packed with trainers battling as usual. Riley waved out at Mr. Kimbell, who was talking with a large, spread out group of people clad in assortment of fancy clothes. Some wore blue suits with ties, others wore stylish trench coats, and some even had capes. All of them, however, wore the emblem of a Poké Ball painted to look like the earth.

"That's a lot of Champions," Riley pointed. "First time I've seen so many in one place."

"Yeah…" I replied, not focusing on him. What I saw threw my mind off of getting my badge.

Talking to some Champion woman with auburn hair reaching all the way down her back, a familiar decently fit man with black hair combed back, and large dark childlike eyes stood in front of her. He wore a Champion's blue buttoned-up trench coat with an emblem on the left part of chest like Alfred's.

He laughed at a joke he made, allowing me to hear his voice. I didn't know what he was doing or what his plans all along were, but seeing him dressed like that forced me to walk up to him. I had to speak with him. Riley followed reluctantly.

As I got closer, his face became stricter and the childlike eyes were offset by stern, rigid lips and a prominent jaw. His arms were behind his back and he stood straight in a dominating sense.

I called out to him with the first thing on my mind. "Rob?"


	16. Chapter XVI: The Plain Badge

_---Author's Note---_

_Yes! Finally the weekend! I'll be finishing Chapter 18 probably tomorrow. So for now, here's chapter 16._

_Also, if you've been reading this story so far, drop a review of it. Tell me what you think. Reviews help me see what I'm doing exactly when I write._

_  
----_

_**Chapter XVI: The Plain Badge**_

_**Legendary Pokémon  
**  
The term 'Legendary' applies to a Pokémon that's been revered in Holy Scriptures and folklore. For example, the main Holy trio: The Dialga, The Palkia, and The Arceus. These three, though they were worshiped before they were classified as Pokémon, have never been in a documented encounter. However, like most of the Legendary Pokémon, their natural waves are emitted in special areas on Earth. Or at least, we scientists consider the waves to be natural waves._

_The Arceus' natural wave was discovered seventy years ago by Dr. Eleanor Rives from a stone at the bottom of the Golden Sea. This brought about an explosion of religious activity from the Alliance of Light._

_However, after the raid on Arcea, more of The Arceus' natural waves were found in temples, along with waves from The Darkrai, The Dialga, The Palkia, and The Girantina._

_-Excerpt from Pokémon Worldwide_

_~*~*_

The Champion chuckled too lightly for me to tell if he was it faking or not, as he brought a hand to his forehead. From his blue trench coat with its shiny badge to his finely brushed wiry black hair, he gave off an air of refinement that all of his peers around him matched, that Alfred matched.

"No, I'm not Rob." He looked over to his lady companion. "I guess you were right."

She shrugged her slender shoulders, causing her autumn hair to bob and said in a cinnamon voice. "You two do look alike. I told you."

Then I remembered what Rob told me. "You're his brother. Roger?"

He nodded and flashed his Earth-colored badge. "Roger Cypress."

The University of Indigo Plateau Alumni

Class of the 93rd Cycle, 89

KR

"And how do you know Rob? He doesn't like popularity."

Being honest was the best choice in this situation. Rob could've told him about me, and who knew what kind of consequences would pop up form lying to a Champion? Especially if he was with his colleagues, dressed up, and on duty?

"He helped me out back in Violet City and I've been with him on and off. He helped me get my first badge and helped me with my first catch."

Roger blinked twice and his eyes fell for a brief second, and then jumped back up. "Oh! Catch a Pokémon! Good, how many do you have? You have one badge?"

Through the corner of my eye, the lady blocked a laugh with her hand. "I have three Pokémon and two badges. I'm here to get my third."

"That's an accomplishment," he said. "You're doing Johto and the rest of the world a favor by being a dedicated trainer."

The willpower it took to keep my eyes from rolling was almost too much. I kept my gaze straight.

"How did you become a trainer?" the lady asked from the background. Despite her innocent tone, the fact that she was a Champion made it sound like someone scratching fingernails across a chalkboard. What was she hoping to get from asking me that? A small imagined cackle sounded mockingly in my ear.

"The Amber Act." I said, my tone grave in spite of my best efforts. Silent, Riley was leaning over the railing, intent on watching two trainers battle on a nearby plot.

Roger squeezed the sides of his mouth between his thumb and pointer finger. "It's a shame. And to be quite honest, it's quite awkward talking to someone forced to be a trainer."

"Is that contempt I hear?" the lady said. Her flesh-colored lips stretched to both ears as her bile green eyes stared condescendingly on me.

Roger rested his hand on my shoulder. "Miranda. Don't start. Please."

"You heard him. The trainer doesn't like his role. He doesn't care about the service he's providing to the people," she said. She started to rock herself on the railing. Every time she reeled back, the pleasant possibility of her falling into a plot and breaking her neck rose. Riley glared at her silently.

"Miranda, not now. He's here to get his third badge," Roger said. "This isn't insubordination. If you really want to start nagging about how someone says something, what about all the times you complained about reporting back to Indigo? You know I could _easily_ file a complaint or something. But I don't because it would waste my time. Just like how you're starting to waste your time with him. He's doing his job still."

Miranda stopped rocking. "No need to get all preachy. I'd just appreciate it if Trainers would actually realize what they're doing for everyone rather than thinking about themselves. If you're going to talk about me, then I'm telling you that I – and every other Champion here, and you – feel good about what we do, even if it is hard work."

"Well you picked your job, just like the rest of us. This trainer didn't."

"Really? It's not that hard to try in school."

"Miranda."

"Roger?"

Before Roger could retort, Mr. Kimbell had made his way through the Champions toward me, politely pushing his way through the ladies and gentlemen with his barbarically hairy arms.

"Yo, Ed! You're here! Come on! Let's get out of the Champions' way." He took me from Roger. "I have a battle plot for you already."

Riley snapped his fingers to get Mr. Kimbell's attention. "Is it one in the back? If it's in the back, then I'll watch. It's getting a bit too blue here."

Miranda chuckled at him. "You don't like Champions either? We never get the respect we deserve for helping you out."

Riley's face soured and became rigid. "You know what? Go to Hell. I hope The Darkrai comes in your sleep."

"Bold words, kid," she said.

Miranda got on her feet and went over to him. He took a step back, but her red fingernails were already on his neck, almost in a perverse sort of way. None of the Champions noticed her get close to his ear and whisper in it. Roger acted swiftly and reached for her arm. She waved it away.

"Don't touch me. You let these kids walk all over you," she said. For a moment, I thought Roger flinched.

"You let these kids get to you. Let's get out of here. For whatever reasons, Trainers trump you. We can go to that Fiorian restaurant you talked about on the way here. We'll get the best seats."

Slowly, she put her hand to her side and Roger calmed down. Without a word, she made her way through the Champions and exited the Gym. Roger dogged after her.

"And here I was looking for a wife. That must've been a sign from God or Arceus or something," Mr. Kimbell said.

***

The battle plot was larger than any I'd seen so far. Instead of shouting across to the opponent, Mr. Kimbell gave me a wired earpiece.

"What do you think?" his voice boomed from the inactive scoreboard. He waved at me from his block. "Our plots are smaller versions of the ones used in League Championships. Same thing with these mics. Sooner or later, we're going to get new blocks installed with those fancy blocks where you can put your Poké Balls in."

I tinkered with my mic. "This is all pretty cool," my voice echoed. "Whoa. Awesome."

"It is, isn't it?" Mr. Kimbell said. "Anyway, let me explain the rules. We're going to be going by the League book. That means, since you challenged me, you get to choose how many Pokémon both of us can use. I get to throw down first though."

Despite running into that bitch, luck was on my side. "One. One on one."

Mr. Kimbell's laughter made my ears throb from all angles. "You're ready to get out of here, huh? Alright then."

He took a Poké Ball from his pocket and activated it. "I was going to save this one for last, but it'll be fun watching you handle it."

Mr. Kimbell dropped the ball off the block, like a soldier dropping a live grenade into a trench below. The ball cracked open and unleashed its light, which thundered through the plot in a complete lap, galloping. The light dissipated into brown fine hair and two ivory horns that were ready to stab anything in the way. The Tauros's muscles pumped as it ran, like a sleek and refined killing machine.

I threw out June. Sparring with Riley's Bobo got her into the habit of taking a peculiar stance: fists in front of her face, bouncing in place on her toes.

"Tauros! Headbutt now!" Mr Kimbell's voice shouted. The Tauros reeled its front hooves into the air and turned its formidable body toward June. It completely skipped rubbing the ground with its hoof; it lowered its head and charged. The two humps outlining its skull could've busted through the glass, no doubt.

"June! Dodge and burn it!" I commanded into the earpiece. June waited until the horns were inches away from her face. She rolled, then brought her right leg around and unleashed a horizontal arc of fire from her foot. The Tauros leapt over it and galloped to the other side of the plot, near me.

Mr. Kimbell eagerly leaned forward on his block, holding onto his earpiece. "Just keep attacking it, Tauros. But bide it all in."

That told me the Tauros was going to be similar to Alfred's Ninjask, except without the sound cues. The best way to win sometimes is to let your enemy's plan pull through. "June, stay on the offensive! Keep attacking!"

And she did. June charged the Tauros and the Tauros charged June. June leapt over it,igniting the air around the Tauros, but the beast threw its rear into the flames, extinguishing them unfazed. The Tauros was swift as well as powerful.

I kept quiet, watching the two go at it. June kept using fire attacks up close as the two dodged each other in some sort of natural dance. The Tauros definitely wasn't letting up, and it made me wonder if I had made a mistake being so eager to win.

June found herself behind the Tauros. The Tauros kicked its hind legs at her. She lifted her arms to block. The impact sent her careening into the glass.

"June!" I shouted. I knew she wasn't down for the count, but a severe injury would've been enough for me to end the fight and try again later.

The Tauros wiped the ground with its hoof, huffing and watching June crookedly get up. Her left arm dangled and a hoof shaped patch of redness bled through the fine yellow feathers.

Mr Kimbell pointed a stubby finger at June like a satirical warlord. "Good! Let it all out, Tauros! Finish her!"

The Tauros spiked its four hooves into the ground, letting out a guttural bellow into the air.

"Get ready June!" I shouted. The battle was going to end soon, and I could already feel myself putting a new badge on my cloth.

The Tauros was a bullet, charging at my battle-torn, steadfast June. She waited. A second turned into an hour and the sounds of the hooves became large, slow trembles of an earthquake.

Yet June stayed her ground.

The Tauros's massive head cocked down below June, and then lifted it up for a final ram. June somersaulted over the Tauros, landing on its back. Her limp arm plopped onto its chest and she slapped her other arm on the other side, putting on pressure.

The Tauros reared. Nearly mute, I could hear June's body cooking steak.

"Get its eyes!"

"Tauros, get it off!"

A flare exploded in the Tauros's face. It bellowed again, but with an agonizing tune. June pounded fists from her good arm into the Tauros's ribcage. When she lifted it, I could see the orange, searing mark in its fur. She hand branded the cow.

The Tauros reared again, this time falling on its side. June rolled away and let a stream of fire rip from her hand, enflaming the Tauros completely.

With great endurance, the Tauros haphazardly managed to get back on its feet despite the damage done. With no command from Mr. Kimbell, it made a hellish kamikaze run to June, roaring.

June replied by charging the Tauros head on, getting low to the ground.

The moment she was under its head, she used her good arm and delivered an uppercut to the Tauros's chest, lifting it off its front hooves. Its mouth exploded open. Spots on the ground darkened from the dripping, ejected saliva.

June swiftly moved over, letting the Tauros drop to the ground, winded and drooling, its tongue hanging out of its mouth like a large lazy worm crawling out a corpse.

A red light enveloped the KO'd Tauros. The battle was over. I climbed down from the block and ran to June, giving her five with her free arm. She actually lifted her hand up this time, showing she knew what a victory was. I gripped it and felt her warmth reciprocate in my palm. I'd have to get my other Pokémon on the same page soon.

Mr Kimbell strutted over to me. "Good game, Ed. You have a wise Combusken there. Normal type Pokémon tend to not be as aggressive as most other Pokémon, but some are wild like the Tauros I used. If you had more badges, I would've used a Pokémon that probably wouldn't have even attacked at all!"

He pulled out a badge from his pocket and handed it to me, a simple golden diamond shape on top of a platinum, larger diamond shape.

"It's the Plain Badge. Since you have three badges, you can register to be a Pokémon Ranger. Congratulations."

I gripped it between index finger and thumb. Alice had told me the info before, and at one time I even considered it. The Plain Badge was the easiest one I had gotten so far, and would prove to be one of the easiest ones I'd get. I set my backpack down and pulled out my badge cloth, unfolding it. I undid the pin clasp behind the badge and stuck the point into the cloth next to the Zephyr and Hive badges. After fastening the pin clasp back, I held the cloth out in front of me, imagining a badge next to the Plain Badge and four others below.

I nudged June's shoulder. We'd get eight.

***

All of the Champions had left along with most of the sparring trainers, leaving the gym forebodingly empty. The battle lasted fifteen minutes at most, so either everyone was rushed out or something else. During the fight, I didn't pay attention to the people at all.

Riley approached us, giving me applause.

"Bloody splendid! You definitely had the advantage there," he praised. "What's with this gym and breaking our Pokémon's arms? You get your money?"

He looked at Mr. Kimbell and tilted his face slightly as if he wanted something. Mr. Kimbell blinked a bit.

"Oh yeah! The money! Twelve hundred dollars, Ed. Come with me."

My heart skipped at the numbers. Being a trainer was proving to be profitable. I followed Mr. Kimbell as he led me to the back, dead silent end of the gym. Riley was next to me, toying with a small dark brown bottle he took from his pocket.

"We only give out checks," Mr. Kimbell said, "so you're going to have to sign a few papers."

He held a door open for me and Riley. I went through first, and the cold, insulated air hit me. Traffic horns were blaring from everywhere, but no lights. The entire area was pitch black.

"Office?" I said. The door shut behind me. Before I could turn around, I was yanked by my shoulder and a horrendously bitter smelling cloth was shoved in my face. Every breath I took brought in more of the smell, burning the inside of my head, all the way up to my brain. I couldn't tell if it was the chemical or my shock making me freeze in place, but my nerves stopped working.

My eyes became heavy. My whole body became heavy. Then, I was let go. I was knocked out before I hit the concrete.

_---_

_Tomorrow, I'll put up Chapter 17. Then this story will be caught up!_


	17. Chapter XVII: Zero Acquaintances

_---Author's Note---_

_I gave the story a more suitable name change and I changed the synopsis. I also finished Chapter 18 and I'm revising it as I post Chapter 17. After Chapter 18, P0 on will be caught up. So, that means no more daily updates. It usually takes me a week or two to write a chapter, so it shouldn't be too bad._

_Also, I have over 2000 hits and more reviews than I ever had before! I've accomplished something! :D_

_Anyway, this chapter is longer than the previous Goldenrod ones. Chapter 18 is even longer. I hope you enjoy it._

_------_

**Chapter XVII: Zero Acquaintances**

_My husband hasn't shown up yet. The rescue team's still clearing bodies and rubble. I'm worried. My 3-year old daughter is asking for him and I told her he'll be back. That was four days ago and now I'm sitting here thinking 'Did I say the right thing?'_

_I've been praying every day to see him again. When that sound wave thing starting booming, Hell was on Earth for two hours. My husband was in the business district, right in the heart of it._

_Randy, Mimi and I love you and we miss you. Please come home. And if I can't see you because you've passed over, then I'm glad you're in the Divine Kingdom.  
_  
Lisa Cruz, quote from The End

~*~*

The smell of my dried saliva down my cheek woke me up. I opened my eyes. When I only saw darkness, I blinked to make sure I didn't still have them closed. I was on my stomach with my hands hogtied behind my back with a rope rubbing against my wrists, making them raw.

The smooth cement underneath me gave off an earthly smell. Touching the floor with my chin sent cool shivers through my head. Far off, I heard the soft dripping of water from everywhere and numerous voices and footsteps from above.

Three questions gnawed at me. What the hell just happened? Where was I? What's going on? Here I was, I thought, in another goddamned situation a thirteen year old honestly shouldn't have to go through. Right after my third badge too. Right after I decided to go for five more. Right after I had become a better trainer. I rolled over onto my side. The familiar tugs of my backpack's straps were absent.

_"Oh no! Oh fuck! God! Fuck! Ing! Damn! It! Why?!"_ I beat my head against the floor with each syllable. The pain was punishment. My Pokémon were gone. June. Shox. Nick, who I barely even knew. Gone. I felt naked and the coldness felt sharper. I had no family back in New Bark Town. I had too many doubts over them. My loved ones were taken from me. My allies. My friends. My family.

The talking and footsteps gradually died out. Sounds of water running through unseen pipes resonated through the room. I had managed to sit up since my legs were free, sulking over my situation. Instead of tears, resentment, held highest toward the government and the Champions that ran it. Lots of people dying was a tragedy, but forcing kids out their homes to control the wildlife population was just an invitation for any freak to take their pick. Whatever happened to that girl back in Azalea, I figured that something similar would happen to me.

What was the bigger threat? The Skarmory or people? Dialgarice really needed a say in this, but the answer was as clear as June's eyes. People. Humans were the biggest threat. That Skarmory wouldn't have been out of its habitat if it wasn't for The Amber Act twisting nature around. I would've been home, getting my school supplies ready.

Then Gavin wouldn't have given me June. Then I wouldn't have caught Shox and Nick.

The noise from all the people above was gone long enough. With a bit of struggle, I was on feet. My head immediately became woozy, making me feel like I was going to throw up. I stood still for a second and took in the air to kill off the feeling. Whatever put me to sleep probably made me sick. Why did Riley do all this? I did not know.

I even saw the brown bottle he had and didn't give two thoughts about it. Did he have this planned for me from day one when we talked about books for trainers? Also, Mr. Kimbell was with us. Chances were that he was in on this too. 'With friends like you, who needs enemies?' applied like rubbing alcohol on a bleeding paper cut.

Bouncing against the brick walls enough times told me I was at the end of some hallway, a long basement. Farther up in the room, I stumbled over some empty paint cans. The noise exploded in the tense silence. I was reminded of when I'd sneak out of my room back at home after being sent to bed. Feeling on the doorknobs and the wall was the only way I could sneak through the dark silently. One night, I wanted to watch a midnight, unedited airing of a cartoon. I had this planned for two weeks straight, and I ruined it all by bumping into a pan set out to catch ceiling leaks on rainy days.

Dad came out his bedroom and found me right in front of my door, about to climb in bed to pretend nothing happened. He demanded about the noise and I admitted to him about why I wanted to watch TV. He ended up pulling me into the living room, turning on the TV and setting the volume low, and handed me the remote. We sat on the floor together and watched TV for 30 minutes. He sat and listened while I whispered to him about what was going on in the show.

A few months later, I'd enter Mrs. Litko's Intermediate Math class.

I reached a corner in the basement. The hallway turned, and I saw yellow light shooting out from the edges of a door. I ran up to it and dropped to my knees to peek through.

A flight of wooden stairs went up to a lit room, where I could see several shadows moving across the wall. Some of the shadows glistened from the drinks the people drank. Two men were chatting.

"The Killer has what? A ninety percent chance of winning. He's killed nine trainers, and the only one who lived didn't count because he was more retarded than him. The new kid's too frail. He's supposed to be a boy. What was he? Ten? He had no front teeth and that long hair makes him look like a girl."

"And we will get our payout." I heard the sound of glasses being clinked together.

"You said it."

"Antigo told me he found the little faggot near the ABC store on Eastfield. The boy was sitting in that abandoned lot. He had a little area that he set up so he can sleep at night."

"Trash. Did Antigo take his Pokémon?"

"The kid didn't have one. After mugging the kid, the kid told him he pawned his Pokémon and his PokéDex to get some money. Antigo saw all the Rea's Deli wrappers around the shithole, so the kid had to eat."

"Hell yeah! I gotta put a down payment on my car. I've been pushing it back for too long."

"Yeah, so instead of ninety percent, a hundred percent."

Glasses clinked again.

The first guy spoke again. "What about the kid we got? You think we ought to put some money on him when he fights? Chase and Riley got him from the city gym."

My heart started beating against my ribs.

"He might be a good trainer, but I dunno. He might pee himself when The Killer looks at him. I was actually thinking we make him into another Killer. You know? Feed him slop once every two or three days, kill his Pokémon except one, and have it get hungry till it goes insane too? We'd manage him, and we'd get big bucks. Everyone else is afraid to do what Savitch did, but I'm not. If the money's good, I'd cut off our kid's fingers and force him to write."

"He won't be able to throw out then."

"You know what I mean." Both men laughed.

The two men from the room above went on about trainers, to Champions, and then to how the baseball season was shaping up. I sat down next to the door listening. The human voices, even if they were my captors, kept me from falling into a depression, and the light was comforting after waking up in the dark.

A phone rang. After four rings, it was picked up.

"Hello?" the first man said. "Yeah. Yeah we have him. He's in one of our basements. Yeah. We got his stuff right here."

A chime sounded.

"Can I help you?" the second man said. A new man asked for some cigarettes. I was in a store.

Someone came down the stairs. I went deeper into the corner.

"Sorry, a customer came in. Yeah, he was knocked out. Riley did his job good. I'll check."

A bunch of latches clicked and slid inside the door. I froze. The door opened and light bulbs dangling above came on. A burly, skinned head man wearing red tank-top came in. He put the cordless phone on his shoulder and turned around to close the door, and he saw me. The red and brown acne scars on his cheeks shifted over as he grinned.

"He's awake. I found him beside the door. He's just staring up at me. He doesn't look too scared, but that's good. He'll do good in the ring. Anyway, I'll have your money next time you come by. And before you go, you interested in bidding? You know Savitch? His kid's going up against some little boy. He's going to kill him, and I mean _kill him_. Oh, well ok then. See you later."

He hung up the phone and put it in his back pocket. He sneered down at me, putting a hand on his hip.

"You call me Sir. I'll call you Ed for now, but you'll go by a nickname soon."

My eyes fell to his feet. Back when I was in fifth year of school, a fat bully named Micah Elliot cornered me against a tree outside the playground so he could get my lunch money. 'Sir' could've been an older, leaner Micah, with the acne and mighty attitude in common.

Sir delivered a sharp kick to my stomach. I keeled over, windless, gasping for air. He pulled me up by my collar with both hands and held me roughly against the wall. My feet dangled off the ground.

"You scream and I'll kill you. I'm not even going to gag you. Scream. Go on. I'll cut your throat and use your trainer data to find your family and cut their throats too. Scream."

My eyes watered and a single tear ran down my face and dripped to the floor. My teeth chattered and my throat became dry.

"Aw, you're a little bitch. If I was someone else, I'd probably rape you now. So you're lucky I'm not a freak."

He dropped me.

"You're going to come with me to watch a game. You're going to see what you're going to be like staying down here. Even if you have to pretend, I suggest you act like you're crazy like the kid tonight. You resist me, you try anything stupid, and I'll kill you and throw you out like the garbage you are. I've done it before. I've taken kids, cut them up into little pieces and dumped them out in the Black Harbor. So don't be a little shithead, ok?"

The chime sounded again. The other guy started climbing down the stairs. Sir kicked me again.

"Ok?"

"Yes." My voice was a whimper. My hatred toward myself rose. Everything I'd done in the past month to give myself courage had fallen apart with two kicks and two threats.

The other man was a pudgy guy with a black goatee and ponytail. He wore a white T-shirt of some band I had never heard of. He knelt down and took my hat.

"I'll have to buy some new chains for the walls," he said, examining my hat. "We still have the whips we used last time. I think we have enough syringes and sedatives, too. Did you check? Rodney hates me, so you'll have to go and buy some."

"What? The hell you do?"

"Nothing. Just do it tomorrow. The sooner we have this kid addicted, the sooner we can get the hell out this store and buy those new Vios bikes."

Sir pulled me to my feet by the arm. The man with the ponytail put the hat back on my head.

"Come on, let's go," Sir said. The two led me up the stairs into a small lounge room with a black curtain hanging down in front of a doorway. A metal door with several latches stood across from it. The other guy unlocked the door and we all went through, going down another stairwell into another lit basement. Several boxes of items were stacked along the wall, from candy to cans of beans to windshield wipers.

At the end of this basement was another door. The man with the ponytail opened it, and the exhaust-polluted outside air filled my lungs. Sir pushed me when I stopped to take it all in.

"Keep walking."

We were in an alleyway away from the streets, dank with alcohol puddles and weeds. The only lights came down from the apartments above us. Stray Skitty and Meowth scattered and hid as we passed by.

"Sometimes there's a Persian here," Sir said. "The kid before you, I let the cat eat a chunk of his arm. Almost took the whole thing." He snickered.

We stopped when we reached a small building with a stairwell going down into an alcove. A lamp on the side wall revealed a black door with a closed horizontal rectangular slot at the top. Many voices came from inside.

The man with the ponytail knocked on the door. A Skitty chased down another Skitty carrying a Ratatta in its mouth. I swore I heard a gunshot in the distance.

The slot opened and two black beady eyes peeked out of it, glistening from the light. They darted at all three of us, and then focused on me.

"Who's that?" a male voice asked from behind the door.

"The next Killer," Sir said. "He's ours. We're going to let him watch Killer."

The eyes darted around again before the slot closed. The door swung open and a muscular bald guard in a tight black shirt stepped out, holding the door for us. The man with the ponytail went in.

"Move," Sir said. The both of us followed. Again, we climbed down a staircase. I remember thinking about going to Hell.

The staircase opened up to a frighteningly expansive basement. Massive metal fans churned on all four walls, with flood lights lined underneath them like large Christmas decorations. Several feet down, hundreds of people mingled. A cloud of smoke circulated around all the lights. The scent of griminess told me I was with the part of Blackenrod that people feared.

Through the people, I saw a chain-link cage. About as big as a wrestling ring, the cage reached about twenty feet at least. At the bottom, sand covered the floor, covering patches of dried blood from whatever went through whatever in the cage.

"Let's get close," the man with the ponytail said. To prevent from Sir speaking to me, I didn't hesitate following them. My tears had welled up. The urge to scream and bail was still present, but I kept down. If anything was going to get me out of this situation, it definitely didn't involve me running away from a hundred criminals. I stood better chances against the Arbok.

We stood close to the cage. Sir grabbed the chain links and bounced it, a wide smile on his face.

"Holy shit! I can't believe it! I can't fucking believe it. Today's the day we get paid. We get paid, use the kid to get more pay, get paid again. Oh man. The Amber Act's the best thing that's ever happened to me."

The man with the ponytail put his hands in his pocket and looked around. "If you're going to mention that, then be thankful you passed enough classes to not be forced to be a trainer. Imagine if you didn't. I'd probably have you in there."

Sir looked back over his shoulder at him. "You wouldn't."

"I love motorcycles."

Both of them laughed and ignored me. People passing by looked down at me, but didn't do anything. Sir would explain that I'd be the next 'Killer.' One of the men who came up to the two called the man with the ponytail 'Sid.'

A scraggly man in a toboggan opened the gate to the cage and pushed a shirtless abomination of a boy in it. His skin hugged against his ribs and his back arched inward. His hair was a mangy mess of dark brown and green, blocking his eyes. A strand of drool came down from his lazy mouth. He carried a single, activated Poké Ball close to his chest as if it was the hand that fed him.

"Look at Savitch. He's a fucking homeless man." Sir said.

"I just think he's a drunk who doesn't bother buying anything worth anything for himself. He probably gave Killer the drugs he managed to get his hands on. Killer's what now? Fourteen? Fifteen? The kid's a damn junkie. Savitch doesn't look half as bad as Killer. I'm starting to think that we won't be able our kid to that level of fucked-up-ness. It's like the kid's literally lost on an acid trip."

"Shut up and trust me. Little Ed here will be more strung out than a stringless guitar. Give me a month or two."

At this point, I hated the world.

Another man, this one wearing a factory worker uniform, shoved a small boy in who stumbled over onto his face. He had long shining blonde hair and, when he pushed himself up onto his knees, his sky blue eyes glittered from the falling tears. The man who brought him in the cage dropped an inactive Poké Ball next to the wretched child. When he left and closed the cage, the entire room became silent. Everyone watched and listened as the man shouted for everyone to shut up.

"Alright, so we have Killer versus some kid. All bets better be in order because once I start this, there's no stopping. We all ready?"

The room exploded in a unanimous "Yeah!" with several 'Hurry up's' and 'get on with it.'

"Then let's do this! START!"

The small boy hustled over to the cage and tugged at the door, wailing. "Let me out! I hate this! Let me out! I want my daddy!"

Killer remained motionless. The crowd grew agitated. Some even threw bottles at the cage. Then the booing started.

Sir slammed the cage wall. "Go! Do something! Do shit!"

Then Killer let go of his Poké Ball. Light exploded out of it when it hit the ground, forming into a large, thin dog with foam at its mouth. Like its owner, its skin was tightly bound to its ribcage. The black fur on its back was matted and the grey fur on its underside had discolored patches of blood. At the corner of its crimson eyes were brown, dried trails of tears.

The dog snarled. The boy shouted for his daddy. Then the dog pounced, pinning him against the door and bit into his neck. The boy squealed, like air leaving a balloon. Then the dog pulled the boy down to the floor and shook its head ferociously, its teeth tearing the boy's flesh, snarling. Drops of blood sprinkled into the air. Blood got on the floor, the cage, people's faces, on the dog's face and fangs, and on the boy's shocked face, now frozen. His blacken hair was now brown from his blood. His eyes, blank blue marbles. And I watched. Blood speckled onto my face, mixed into my new tears. All around me, people either cheered or groaned at the mess being made, like getting a pasta stain on a clean shirt.

"What're we getting?" Sir said to Sid, using the bottom of his shirt to the blood off his face. "Thirty thousand?"

Sid held his hands up in front of his face. "Goddamn that's nasty! Yeah. Thirty-two thousand. I'll go on to the booth and get it. Take care of the kid. He's shocked, crying. Something." He shrugged and walked off.

In my mind, I was in the clouds, riding a flying formless Pokémon. This Pokémon was innocent and naïve to the inflamed, corrupted world under the sheet of clouds. And I was on its back, basking as the cool air swept across my skin and through my hair. The smile on my face was a sign of how joyful it was to be away from it all.

Sir shook my shoulders. "Calm your ass down. Stop acting weird. The kid had it coming to him anyway. If you do your job, you won't end up like him. I'll make sure of that, ok?"

A bearded man got close to the cage and shouted to everyone to get their payouts at some booth. The dog abandoned the corpse's throat and started chewing on its face.

Sir slapped the top of my head, knocking my hat off. I collapsed to my knees. He brought me back to reality.

"Get up."

I slowly looked up at him in disbelief. My ambition of getting out of being a trainer was cut down. That, or I had finally reached my goal in way I never predicted.

A third way to view my situation came in a strange way, in the form of a gloved hand grabbing Sir's shoulder from behind. The hand's owner belonged to a husky man in a black hoodie wearing an odd mask. Silver on the right side, black on the left, with three slits on the mouth area for breathing. The areas for the eyes were covered with a light mesh, but the one on the silver side was in the shape of a large vertical oval outlined in red. The back of his head showed a dark crew cut.

The costumed man turned Sir around and socked him in the face. Sir stumbled onto the cage, and then he pushed himself off, holding a fist in the air to beat his attacker. The costumed man planted a punch in Sir's gut, spit flying out his gaping mouth like when June finished off the Tauros. Sir fell to his side, to the costumed man's boots, curled up.

Behind the costumed man was another taller man in a similar getup wearing a blue beanie, and a hunched, twisted figure completely underneath a black cloak.

The taller man carried my backpack. When everyone in the room gathered around us to see a potential fight, he opened up his coat to reveal several Zero Balls on his belt along with a handgun.

"Harold, right?" Sir's attacker asked. "You messed with the wrong trainer, so I had to hit you. I heard you dealt with Team Zero before, so I'll skip the introductions. Here."

He took a manila envelope out from inside his coat and dropped it next to Harold's head.

"Forty thousand dollars in unmarked bills. Use it to get an actual life rather than taking others. We'll be taking him with his." He gestured his head toward me, then scanned around the room at everyone. "And if anyone wants to try anything, we have enough Zubat on us to run Blackenrod City out of antidotes! We really don't want any trouble, but this guy really was an asshole."

He took out a switchblade. Harold flipped over on his back and pulled himself away. The Team Zero member chuckled. "Come on Ed, I'll get those ropes off you."

The sense of familiarity I had with him was the only thing that made me approach him and his knife. I turned around and he cut through the ropes. My wrists were like a peppermint cane, pale from the circulation yet pink and red from where the ropes rubbed my skin raw. As blood started pumping, the nerves in my fingers worked again.

The taller man handed me my backpack. "Check if you have all your belongings. If you don't, then we'll stop by the store they kept you in."

The moment he dropped the strap into my hand, I unzipped it and took out June's, Shox's, and Nick's Poké Balls and put them in my pocket. My Pokémon would always be at my side that day forward.

My clothes, the Skarmory knife, and my camping stuff were still inside, but the money I got from Jim and Chloe was gone.

"My money's gone," I said.

"How much?" the Team Zero member standing over Harold said.

"Eight hundred."

He picked up the envelope and took out the cash, counting up a sum and handing it to me, "Here."

I held onto the money, looking back at the dog. The dog chewed the flesh in its mouth like a rubber toy. The corpse's face was unrecognizable, with half of the nose hanging off and a white sliver of bone showing underneath the barely intact eye.

A gunshot cracked. The dog collapsed onto its side. The taller man put his gun back in his pants. All around us, guns were pulled out and aimed at us. A number of people even had Poké Balls in hand, ready to be thrown out. The taller man made sure his Zero Balls were visible. Nobody moved, except for the skin-and-bones boy in the cage. He raised his head up, revealing his black, baggy eyes, and stared at his dog. He hobbled over to it and got down on his knees. Killer started to rub the dog's bloody fur, getting blood on his hands as well. Then he embraced the dog and let out a hoarse, painfully morose scream. If death ever had a sound, he sung it.

Another gunshot cracked. A wound popped open in Killer's back. Still holding on to his dog, Killer fell over. Again, the taller man put his gun back into his pants.

_[You did them both a favor. Come back up. The crowd down there looks like it's ready to get rowdy.]  
_  
The voice in my head was enough to tell me a psychic Pokémon or something was around me. Perhaps the cloaked figure, but my mind was heavy with everything I encountered this night. Being kidnapped, being threatened, watching a kid get mauled by a dog, and another kid get shot was too much. The three dead bodies repulsed me. The entire room repulsed me.

Harold remained on the ground. A cold sweat rolled down his forehead and he was panting. The Team Zero member above him was fixated on the three corpses in the cage as well. The taller one put a hand on his shoulder.

_[We should listen to her. Let us go. I like the ride in vehicles.] _

The voice was more masculine than the previous one. The previous one sounded like one of those word reading programs on computers. This one sounded grand, mighty, and upbeat.

The shorter Zero member turned around and nodded. "Yeah, yeah. We're leaving. Come on, let's get out of here. We got nothing to do here anymore."

The cloaked figure led the way. The tall Zero member followed, still showing off his weapons. I followed him, and the other member came behind me. I walked past Sid. His face had complete disbelief and he carried three large stacks of cash in his hands. Then I looked back at Harold, who was sitting on the floor, counting the cash in the envelope like money in a Christmas card.

We climbed the steps and made it outside. The bouncer who guarded the door before was against a wall. He was looking up at something with just as much fright as the little blonde boy had when he was thrown in his cage.

On top of the building across from him was a silver Metagross with a blacken cross on its face. Its shadowed, red eyes leered down at the man. Sitting on top of its head was another Zero member, but a female in a dark hoodie with the hood up. A number of activated Zero Balls hovered around the two of them like fat Combee.

"Alright, let's go!" The taller man shouted. The two male members and the cloaked figure ran down alley beside the one Harold and Sid took me down. I followed. More Skitty and Meowth got out of our way. Pitch black Murkrow gathered on the clotheslines above us and cawed. Behind them, there was a large crescent moon. If the Gods were real, the Goddess of Deceit was watching me.

A white van's back end blocked the way to the street. The taller member opened it up and beckoned me to get in. He helped me get in and I took a seat on the leather bench on the side. Everybody else climbed in. I noticed that when the cloaked person climbed in, the person kept his or her hands concealed. He took a seat on the bench across from me.

The shorter member closed the doors behind us and the taller member got in the driver's seat, cranked the van, and drove out onto the street.

"Hell yes. 'Mission complete!'" He removed his mask and put it next to me. Ned held his hand out for a five.

"Ed! How've you been holding up? I'm so glad we got you out of there in time. Are you ok? Your wrists look bad."

My eyes were down at the metal floor and my hands stayed at my side. Ned took his hand back. "How long was I gone?" I asked.

"A few hours." He looked at the clock on the radio. "It's three A.M. now. Are you alright? What did those two assholes do to you? We can turn this van around and kick their asses if you want us to. You want anything to eat? We can stop to get some food."

The van drove over a pothole. The mask fell and clanked against the floor. Ned picked it up and sat down next to the cloaked figure, putting the mask in his lap.

"Where are you taking me?"

"To where we saw you last before you went to the gym and got kidnapped."

"You've been following me?"

"Something like that."

"Why?"

"We're friends."

I took off my backpack and set it on my lap, holding it in my arms against my chest. I rested my chin on top of it. "Where's Anne and Darius?"

"They're at headquarters. Anne says she hopes you're doing good with your badges. Darius wants to know if you want to join us. He said that he can make it worth your while. Hell, being in Team Zero is enough. After all that, do you really want to be walking around at night, alone? It's too tough being a trainer. With us, you could probably go back and fuck those two guys up. And put that money away before you drop it."

I just noticed I had eight hundred dollars crumpled up in my hand. I unzipped my bag and dropped the bills in.

"Ed, are you alright? Talk to me, man. That was some sick stuff you saw. There's no way it can't be on your mind right now."

"We're here," the driver said.

The van came to a stop and the driver got out. He came around and opened the door up. He had a long pale face with a 5'oclock shadow. Ned got out and helped me down. We were in front of Nina's apartment. Ned jogged up the porch steps and punched in 305 without looking at the directory, and then stuck his head out to check up and down the street. Rob's voice came from the speaker.

"Hello?"

"Someone down here needs to get in. You know him and he knows you. See ya!"

Ned leaped off the porch. He held his large hand out in front of me again. An animated grin was plastered dumbly on his face. "You left me hanging in the van. Cheer up! You're alive and those assholes won't mess with you again. They won't. I promise. Trust me."

Even though my hands were working right again, my right hand was shaky. I gave him five with my fingers. The odds of me getting away from Harold and Sid were too low for me to calm down over. And the image of the mauled boy beside the starved, strung out teen holding his dog in death couldn't go away. I closed my eyes, and the image was clearer than Nina's HDTV. I focused on looking at the ridges in the concrete on the sidewalk, then the pattern of the bricks on the apartment building.

Ned gave a last look at the building, and then grabbed my shoulders. He tilted his head forehead toward me, raising his eyebrows as if I had something good going on.

"Trust me."

He let go of me, jumped into the van, and closed the door. The unknown second member nodded his head at me through the driver side mirror and drove off down the street, and then turned off.

I watched the smoke from the exhaust rise up. The streetlights made all the buildings, trash cans, and sidewalks glow orange. Even the sky looked like black mixed with a bit of orange. It was thick and starless, like it was physical object, a curtain. This curtain hid my future. After tonight's events, I asked myself if I really wanted to see what was behind it. My prize for tonight was to see death and the worst of the people in the city. At the moment, the game show looked like it wanted me off the stage.

Rob came out the apartment. His white tank top reminded me of Harold, but I didn't mention it. He ran down to me.

"Ed! Where the hell have you been? I went out looking for you and I was about to try again. What happened to your wrists?"

A part of me quietly wished the ropes had cut my wrists to end this confusing nightmare that I called my journey. Another part sang my wonder over how I was alive. After what I had been through so far, I was alive. What was making this possible? I was able to flunk math yet survive so much. And what would I have to go through in the future? I thought.

"Ed? C'mon man, say something. You're scaring me. Someone did something to you? I've never seen you like this."

"I'll tell you tomorrow. Right now, I honestly don't know what I'm supposed to be thinking or doing. But what's weird is that, I really want to see my Pokémon. I haven't spent as much time with all three of them like I wanted to. And as weird as this sounds Rob, can we just, like, chill for a day? Just me and you? Nothing against Nina, but you, June, Shox, and hopefully Nick are the closest things I have to a family."

I took out Shox's ball, activated it, and dropped it on the ground. The ball bounced and started to roll down the street up against the sidewalk. Rob ran and caught it before it got too far.

"Dude, of course. Anytime man, anytime. And no, it doesn't sound weird. And never think that. In fact, I'm glad you see me that way. You're sort of like a bro to me too. And I actually have a brother, so you know I know what I'm talking about!" He had a softer version of his goofy smile on his face as he handed me Shox's Poké Ball. "Also, the Champions put the city's trainers on Lockdown while you were gone. No Pokémon can be let out of their Poké Ball tonight and we won't be able to leave for a while. I don't know how long it'll last, but yeah, me and you got stuff-"

"No, that's impossible. I-" That dog didn't just dig its way into the cage.

"Come on, let's go upstairs and get some sleep. I know you've been through too much tonight, so just sleep on it. Tomorrow, we should be able to use our Pokémon. We'll be able to train. After we sleep in of course."

Rob climbed the porch and held the door open for me. My legs were heavy as I climbed the steps. On one shoulder, old doubts came back about whether or not getting the gym badges was worth it. On the other sat the mystery of if some guardian angel watched over me.

Then my stomach grumbled. I missed dinner completely.

_  
---_

_This chapter was fun to write after applying some of what I learned from my Creative Writing class._

_Anyway, the first part of the story is drawing to a close. I've decided that, once I reach that point, I'm going to go on a break and revise all of the chapters so far. Personally, the beginning chapters are horrible and my style jumped around too much back then. It shows that I didn't have a good grip on what I had planned. So, I'm just going to finish up Part 1 for now, then go back and revise all of its chapters, and then start on Part 2._

_  
__This story has a definite ending, and I hope you enjoy it._


	18. Chapter XVIII: The Battle Tent

_---Author's Note---_

_Awesome, I've finally caught P0 up on . Here's the latest chapter. I hope you enjoy it._

_Also...105,957 FUCKING WORDS OMFG I CANT BELIEVE I WROTE THAT MUCH :o.  
_

_---_

**Chapter XVIII: The Battle Tent**

_The Eight Virtues of a Champion__ are as follows__:_

_Acceptance_

_Determination_

_Discretion_

_Impartiality_

_Justice_

_Obedience_

_Prudence_

_Temperance_

_~1__st__ Article of the Champion Document_

~*~*

Shox bolted down the walkway after the tiny Spinarak. The spider scurried away from its trainer and crawled up a lamppost, opening and closing its mandibles as if to taunt Shox with vulgar words. Shox jumped onto the pole like it was a tree. He fell back onto his feet when his claws couldn't stick into the metal.

Across the street, Nick managed to scare off kids splashing around near a fire hydrant they twisted open. All he did was fly over the parked cars and land in the middle of them. They bolted, and he let the water cool him down. The sun was hidden behind the Goldenrod Mall and a chill wind blew between the buildings. This was the coldest day in the summer. Decorative trees lining yards and entrances to office buildings and clinics had a sprinkling of brown and orange leaves at their roots.

June sat to my right and Rob sat to my left. I was plucking blades of grass and she copied me. Around us, many trainers waited, playing and training their Pokémon. I counted most of them and got to forty before stopping. At a parked PBN van, a lanky cameraman put together a tripod and a reporter was surrounded by make-up artists. The smell of her hair spray reached all the way to us. Rob sneezed on June. June jumped to her feet and put her feathery fists up. Rob slid himself away.

He waved his hands in front of him. "What the hell's her problem?! Sorry! Sorry!"

"June, come sit by me." I patted the grass beside me. She gave me a glance as if I said something awkward, and then made her way over to Nick, standing just outside of where the water sprinkled onto the sidewalk.

White activity buses came down the street and parked in front of Goldenrod's Battle Tent. The building reminded me of Violet City's Gym, being less fancy than Goldenrod's Gym. Like almost every building associated with the Pokémon League, it was a dome with windows going across the side. We were sitting in the greenery in front of the entrance along with many other trainers. Every time a blond girl walked by, I'd stare at their faces to see if any of them was Alice.

I cupped my hands and shouted, "Alice!" I looked around and no one came to me or even looked up. A trainer couple sat around with their kid, who was stumbling around with a fat green Caterpie. The kid started crawling over to us, but his father picked him up and gave him a pacifier.

"Who's Alice?" Rob asked. He was lying on the grass rolling a deactivated Poké Ball on his chest.

"A girl I met in Cherrygrove. I met her the same day I left home and she kinda helped me out. She told me about Violet City and badges."

The kid's mother picked up the Caterpie and put it in her lap. The baby crawled over to it and put his pacifier in its mouth.

"Wait. I think you told me something about Cherrygrove, about some girl you met." He sat up. A gleam was in his eye. "That girl you said you slept with."

I couldn't help but chuckle. Last week's events had been behind me long enough for the images of the dead trainers and the dog not take over my entire mind.

"She didn't sleep with me. She was just in the same bed as me."

"She look good?" he immediately asked. He put his Poké Ball in his vest.

Embarrassingly enough, I had to think about it. The first visual I'd get when I thought of her was that vision Dialgarice put in my head.

I laid down. "Yeah."

I watched the clouds above me ease their way across my sight. One large, puffy one reminded me of a high school photo I saw of my dad with his dorky curly hair. From the corner of my eye, Rob inched closer and peered down at me with childish enthusiasm.

"What?" I asked.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"How'd she look? I think you told me she had blonde hair. You don't see a lot of blonde girls anymore for some reason. Or at least I haven't."

A lot of kids in New Bark had blonde hair. Then I realized the only blonde trainer I've seen other than Alice was that little kid who was mauled by that dog. For five days, Rob went tooth-and-nail trying to get me distracted from thinking about the incident. The morning after Ned and his Team Zero friends dropped me off, I threw up all over Nina's couch. The image of their bodies leaking a pool of blood reminded me of everything I considered disgusting, and then made me realize how disappointed I was in people and how some bastards could put kids in a cage and have them try to kill each other. On top of that, the game was rigged. Everyone in that room that night was a murderer.

Rob had helped me clean up the couch. He did it without a saying a single word. Once he did that, I forced myself to stop thinking about the murders. I stopped thinking of him and all that he had done for me. When we were waiting for the pillows to dry at the Laundromat, I told him that I was sorry and that he didn't have to do all of this. He said, "Ain't nothing. You might end up seeing worse, so just stop thinking about it. You're still here and that's all that matters now."

A cloud that looked like an open book passed in the sky.

Rob scratched his head. "You don't remember her, do you?"

I chuckled. "Nope, not at all." I owed him some entertainment, in the very least. "But man, she was cute. It's been a while, but she was someone you see and you actually feel bad about letting her go, even if you didn't really get to know her."

"Wow," Rob said. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I think. That's how Nina is to me." He looked away toward the Battle Tent. Champions were going inside. "Something like that."

I rolled over on my side and propped my head up with my arm. "You two really get along. How'd you two meet exactly?"

Rob got up. Everyone started returning their Pokémon and began heading to the Tent. "Remind me to tell you later. Let's go."

I got up, disappointed at not learning more about Rob and Nina, and returned my Pokémon. I walked with Rob into the Tent.

The inside reminded me of a hockey rink my Dad took Gavin and me to so he could teach us how to ice skate. There was a single concrete battle plot enclosed in thick glass with the lines traced out with black paint. Above the center hung a scoreboard with two large rectangles and six smaller ones beside each of them. Entrance tunnels were behind the trainer blocks, and the bleachers ran alongside the walls from one tunnel to the next. The front row seats were already full, so Rob and I sat higher up.

"Alright. I promise you this will be worth it," He told me. He kicked his boots up on the bleacher in front of us. "You might even want to stay a trainer after it's over. They're just going to talk a bunch of propaganda bullshit and then the fun stuff happens."

Rob had been going on about the Battle Tent since we were at the Laundromat. Even though he got one of his shirts stained by my hurl, he was extremely excited talking about it with me as we sat and watched the dryer spin.

"Propaganda about what?" I asked.

Rob was looking down at the lower bleachers. Roger and Miranda were climbing up to us, both wearing casual summer clothes.

"Don't you feel naked?" Rob asked. His face was expressionless. "You look weird without your uniform."

Roger sat next to Rob. He wore a pink button down plaid shirt and cargo jeans and sandals. He chuckled. "Yeah, and you still refuse to fix your hair. I told Mother about how you let it grow wild. She said she wouldn't want a picture of you."

Miranda sat next to Roger and rested her head on his shoulder. "His hair's fine, I think."

Seeing her in that white tank top and cut jean shorts sent a chill through me. Her peach legs were shaven and reflected the ceiling lights. I kept silent and my eyes stuck to watching the battle plot. Cameramen and Champions in uniform were setting up some wires. One plain-faced champion, wearing a distinctive red coat, was off to the side talking animatedly to men in suits.

"So what do you two want?" Rob asked. He was looking at a group of trainer girls who sat down near the bottom. He nudged me.

"Oh nothing. I just saw you and figured you wanted my company. You know Ed there thought I was you?" I looked up at my name. My view shot to Miranda who glared at me with a serpentine smile.

"He did?" Rob looked at me and gave me a wink. "I'm insulted." I cracked a smile. Sitting side by side, the two did look the same. However, Rob was more muscular and Roger 's face had more lines.

"Funny," Roger said. "You're going to battle after the program? I know you want to show of those skills. _'I'm gonna be a Champion. A REAL champion!'_"

Rob scoffed.

"What about you Ed?" Roger asked. "I heard about how you got your third badge. Mr. Kimbell told me you really messed up one of the Gym's Tauros. You have a Combusken?"

"I don't think I'm going to go down there, and yeah I have one. Her name's June."

"Nice. Look at us three." He pointed to me. "Torchic." He pointed to Rob. "Charmander." Then he pointed to himself. "Cyndaquil."

Roger looked back at Miranda. "You're the odd one out. You don't have a Chimchar?"

"Nope. Monkeys aren't my thing. Too icky."

Roger continued his small talk. Rob was a statue that made approving mumbles and Miranda gave yes or no answers to Roger's questions. I was dropped out of the conversation.

He mentioned Mr. Kimbell. He was with Riley when he put me to sleep. He was the one who led me to the back of the gym. He was bigger than Riley so he could've overpowered him. He didn't. Mr. Kimbell was just as guilty as Riley.

At this point, I was wondering how I should feel about everything. I don't know why, but after getting my third badge, I honestly didn't feel afraid.

The Champion in the red robes looked up from his conversation and waved at us. Miranda waved back.

"Why come you're not down there with the rest of the Champions?" Rob asked her. He rested his head on the bleacher behind us. "And when will this thing start? All they're doing is setting up mics and cameras and standing around talking."

"Do you see me in my uniform?" she said.

"Rodge, is she wearing a uniform?" he asked.

Roger sighed. "I'm not even going to get into this. Rob, grow up. And you didn't answer my question, are you going to battle after the program?"

Rob took his attention from the ceiling to stare at his brother, keeping his head on the bleacher. "I might. Don't tell me to grow up though," he said. His tone was flat and out of character. For the first time since I knew him, Rob was literally pissed off. I could only see the back of his head and part of his chin. Picturing his face in a scowl was too hard.

Roger reeled back and held his hands out in front of him. His eyes darted to the left and right. "Hey, relax. I'm just pushing your buttons. I just want you to see how good I've gotten. You want to try me?"

Miranda seemed taken aback. "You actually battle? _You actually trained?_"

Roger curled a brow. "Um, yeah? I'm actually pretty good I think. Ask Rob. About three years ago, when he came by the campus, me and him had a good battle. He won though."

"And I'll win again," Rob said, sitting up. People were clearing out of the battle plot and the Champion in red was twirling a microphone by its wire. He sneered. "I'll be honest. I can't see you getting your hands dirty to train your Pokémon. All you have is that Typhlosion. You handle people, not trainer. A real trainer would own you."

"Well you're the realest trainer I've ever known, Rob. I forgot how long you've been a trainer. You sure must like it," Roger retorted.

Rob leaned forward and put his knees in his lap, holding his hands in a firm ball. "Rodge, I'll fight you, but you're starting to make me think we'll be using fists instead of Pokémon."

The program started. The Champion in red looked around at the audience and put the microphone to his mouth.

"Can everyone hear me just fine?" he said.

Only a few people mumbled "Yes."

The Champion laughed. "Calm down, calm down. Don't get too excited. Jeez."

As some of the audience laughed, the large speakers in the corners of the ceiling screeched. He put a hand against his ear.

"Darn it. Sorry for that. I think I walked into a bad zone…thing…or something. Anyway, I know why you're all here, so I'll just keep on talking about the boring "Why I'm a Champion" speech."

Though most people found him humorous, he received some boos.

"Oh alright. Just make sure you all figure out who's going to battle first." He winked at everybody.

"So let me introduce myself. I am Charlie Tenner and I'm a Johto Pokémon Champion. Some of you may know me as a former member of Hoenn's Elite Four, but we're not going to talk about that since that's not important."

Now I recognized him. Champion Charles Tenner was one of the bigger figures talked about in history class. My head became light from anxiousness at looking at someone some kids had to write a report on for a final grade. My teacher wrote on the board about how Champion Tenner was one of Champions that led the raid on Arcea. A classmate named Jimmy Taft had shouted about how his dad got ten Arcean heads more than Champion Tenner.

"You're all trainers here, I'm guessing," he continued. "But what kind of trainers are you?" The badges on his coat glistened as he went over to a group of trainers to the side, at the front row. One of them was Ned. Seeing him led me to recognize the guy in the blue sock hat sitting beside him as the second Zero that shot Killer. They were grouped together with other trainers who were probably more Zero members, but none I recognized. All of them wore normal street clothes rather than those black hoodies and coats.

The guy in the blue sock stood up and looked down at Champion Tenner through the glass. "We're trainers thrown out our homes by you people!"

Tenner put on surprisingly genuine concern. "What do you mean?"

Ned shot up to his feet. "That bitch Amber! Why do we have to suffer because of her death and all those other deaths, what? Fifty years ago? A lot of kids don't even know about why the Amber Act exists! And those that do know, you may as well be murderers to them!"

"Murderers? How?"

"An entire civilization?" Ned said. "And they did _nothing_ to the Four Regions! The fact that you went out and killed off a race is fucking ridiculous. And while that happened, you let the Amber Act keep going. You killed off an entire people in their own city and ruined families back here, home. I speak for every trainer when I say this: I hope to God, the Divine One, Arceus, or whatever that you get what you deserve. You and the rest of your goddamned Champions."

About half the Tent applauded. Some trainers even got on their feet and started ranting. A part of me wanted to stand up. It felt too good to be around so many people in my same situation, yet I didn't get excited.

Rob grinned. "Nice! Right in his face." He applauded.

"Look at him, you can tell he's healthy with all that fat on him. Trainers are so ungrateful," Miranda said. "Trainers always want pity. They're so inconsiderate."

Both Rob and I glared at her. I had my hands resting next to me on the bleachers. They balled into fists, but I kept quiet. Then I realized that, considering my situation as a trainer, I was being too apathetic. Why didn't I get angry enough to just explode in her face like Ned did to Champion Tenner? I saw trainers killed because of the Amber Act. I was almost killed because of the Amber Act three times so far. Yet I backed down.

Rob didn't. "Rodge, where did you find this stupid cunt?"

Miranda's mouth hung open. Her eyes narrowed at him, and then looked at Roger. He had been leaning forward during Ned's words, but he'd been slightly turning his head when both Rob and Miranda said something. His head sank.

"Rob, don't start. Take that back."

Rob sneered at Roger. "Hell no. We both know I don't like you, but we're family still. And I gotta tell you Rodge, I'm disappointed."

Miranda stood up, ready to pounce. "How dare you talk to me that way?" Her voice was close to a hiss and a minor Sinnoh accent took over her words. "You respect me."

"I respect you no more than a loyal female guard dog," Rob said, bringing his focus back to the battle plot. The audience had died down. Miranda began to stomp over to him, but Roger got up and whispered something in her ear. She dragged him up the bleachers and through the exit doors.

"I refuse to have a girl have me ball and chain like that. Ed, don't ever let a girl do that to you. And don't let anyone talk down to you either. Don't matter who they are. Also, make sure she isn't ignorant to all Hell."

I took his words to heart, and together we listened to Champion Tenner speak.

"The trainer made an amazing point!" he started. "Kids are being evicted from their homes to serve Johto, Kanto, Sinnoh, and Hoenn, but is it really fair? You ask this, or you have asked this."

Then I remembered what I learned about his childhood.

"When I was a twelve year old in Olivine City, I did poorly in school. I didn't want to join a Champion Academy, so when the time came, my parents had given me a backpack filled with supplies and a laboratory assistant gave me my first Pokémon, a Larvitar."

Champion Tenner reached into his coat and took out a Poké Ball. He dropped it to the floor and stood back. The light that shot out of it swirled around like a gust. As it churned, it gathered a skinny cloud of concrete pebbles off the ground that spun along with it. The spinning light squeezed itself together and formed into the figure of a faint green upright lizard that towered over its owner, spikes going down its head to its tail. The Pokémon's eyes were shadowed over, as if its skin was some sort of removable armor and giving them the impression they were solid black. A pattern of deep, dark gashes were under its neck and on its legs. The cloud of pebbles and debris continue to spin around the two

"Her name is November," he said, grabbing her clawed hand like he was guiding a child. He walked with her. As the Tyranitar took a step, its massive feet lifted up dirt that gathered into the swirling cloud. Her massive head looked down at Champion Tenner as he said her name. A sheet of silent awe had swept across everyone, even to Team Zero down below.

"At first, I didn't want to even begin getting eight badges. I'll admit to you all that I even considered being a thief and working for a local gang in cahoots with former Rockets, but I went for my first badge from the local gym and got it. I couldn't believe it. November would try to run away all the time, but I asked her to headbutt this Aron the gym leader at the time used.

"When she did it, I was hooked. The gym leader's name was Paco. When Paco put that badge in my hand, I wanted to get a second badge. So I left the city and headed to Ecruteak Town, where I got it."

Champion Tenner had my complete attention. His story sounded too much like mine.

"However, some gang members didn't want me to leave. I knew they'd follow me and do God knows what, kill me or put me in some sort of child trafficking system. Luckily, I ran into a Champion doing research in Ecruteak. His name was Merrick Blanche, graduate of Indigo University working on his Doctorate on Ho-oh and Lugia Manifestations. I begged him to help me out of my situation, and without a question about why'd a gang want me out the picture, he waited for them to arrive in town.

"They did. Ten of them. They had guns, Mightyena, the works, and he took care of all of them. At once. At the same time. Before then, I had no idea Pokémon could be handled with such grace and power. Every bullet fired at him was thrown into the Void by his Mismagius. When the gang let their Mightyena loose, his Alakazam levitated them into the air and dropped them on top of their owners. Me talking about it doesn't do the picture justice. Just know that from that day forward, I wanted to be like that. So I started training and collecting Pokémon.

"Seven months later, I was in Saffron City. I had gotten my eighth badge from the gym there and I was wondering what I'd do from there. Meeting Champion Blanche made me design a team of Pokémon focused on battling, protecting, and saving people around me. I guess you could say he made me want to be a superhero."

He laughed at himself.

"But those seven months taught me a few more things about the responsibilities of Champions. They are there to protect the world. Humans are part of the world. Pokémon are part of the world. Champions protect both. Champions also protect the world from itself. And this is why the Amber Act exists. The Gyarados attack in question that started all this? I'm going to tell you a few statistics on the Ocean Blue Gyarados species back then. It'll tell you what Champions are trying to prevent.

"There was a recorded total of seventy million Ocean Blues lurking in and nearby the Vermillion Bay."

Gasps erupted everywhere, even from my apathetic self. That number petrified me. Mom and Dad once took Gavin and me to Cianwood to swim on the beaches. It wasn't Vermillion, but I had plucked a baby Magikarp out the water and tried to eat it with what little teeth I had at the time. Gavin knocked the fish out my hand and told me that when it grew up, it would slither through Johto to find and eat me. With seventy million around one town, what Gavin said actually sounded plausible.

Someone raised their hand before Champion Tenner continued, a young man on the bleachers across from us

"How'd so many get there?" He asked loud enough for everyone to hear. "And why didn't they attack the ships?"

"They bred," Champion Tenner answered. "They just bred. The Magikarp would turn into Gyarados at astonishing speed. When they were Gyrados, they'd swim South to Almian waters to mate, then return back to Vermillion Bay to give birth. There's this sonar scan IU's Marine Biology Department has. It shows how many Gyarados there were. Look it up online. They were all dormant too, until they woke up and started destroying everything.

"I've seen it," Rob said to me. "Even if it's real, so what? Yeah, it's sad that they ended up attacking the city, but the Champions shouldn't have reacted so severely."

November let go of Champion Tenner's hand. She dropped down to all fours to curl up and rest. I couldn't tell if its eyes were closed, but I figured it wasn't going to sleep any time soon since the twirling cloud was still up. Tenner leaned against her stomach. He held the microphone against it and knocked on its skin. It sounded like he was tapping against a statue.

"She's tough. She uses sand and dirt to make her armor. I'm thankful I was given her because the others in her litter weren't so lucky. Not many people know about this, but there was an overpopulation of Onix in Mount Silver twenty years back. Onix eat rocks and sometimes will eat Tyranitar eggs since Tyranitar egg shells are made almost entirely of earth."

He put his hand inside one of the holes in November's neck and put the microphone to her mouth. She made a low, rumbling purr. For such a large, scary looking Pokémon, it sure was peaceful. Sort of like a giant Nick.

"Fortunately, thanks to the Amber Act, trainers gathered at Mount Silver and caught over fifty thousand Onix. IPU gave free Poké Balls to trainers passing by and we fixed everything. The Onix were becoming a threat to Blackthorn City and some Kanto towns on the other side of the mountain range. There were enough trainers to make a difference."

A Champion in blue holding a waving dark blue cape ran up to him from the sideline. Champion Tenner put a hand over his microphone as he listened to what the newcomer said. Then the Champion handed his superior the cape and ran out the Tent. Champion Tenner returned November to her ball.

"Sorry, but I have to go back to Headquarters," he said, putting on his cape. "I wanted to touch more on how Trainers benefit from the Amber Act, but I'll just say that I love my job, I love helping people, and I love helping Pokémon. I love my Pokémon."

The cape looked like a fearsome triangular hole of darkness behind him. Fixing the collar so that it stood up, Champion Tenner had changed from a plain man who had on a red version of a coat that nearly every pretentious person I met so far had wore, to a formidable, powerful figure whose cape dragged grandly against the battle plot like he owned the game itself. Down below, Ned and the other Zero Members scowled, then climbed up the bleachers and left as well.

I watched him as he left, waving at everyone. "He makes that cape look so cool," I said.

"Yeah, he's a Champion I respect," Rob said. His voice was barely a notch above a whisper and the entire Tent was silent enough for me to hear him. "He won the 33rd Johto League and he won the 27th International League Tournament. I heard he doesn't compete anymore because he thinks people don't know how to battle anymore."

Rob's volume cranked up. "He just hasn't met me yet though. Too bad he won't be able to see the whooping I'm about to put on Rodge. Look who's down there."

In the center of the plot, a Champion was standing with a microphone talking to Roger. She nodded her head then faced the audience around with a gleaming smile I could even see from how high up I was.

"Sorry for Champion Tenner leaving so soon, he's a very important man and we Johto Champions would be nowhere without him. He was supposed to do the Battle Introduction but my friends, uh, 'colleagues' decided to have me do it."

She looked toward the sideline, then back to Roger. He shrugged with his hands in his pockets. Then she put her palms to her forehead, and handed Roger the microphone. She walked off the plot.

Roger stared at the microphone. "I'm not used to this, but I don't have much to say anyway." He raised his head and looked into me and Rob's direction.

"My name is Roger Cypress and I'm a Class of 89 graduate of Indigo University. I'm on my day off at the moment, but I came here just so I could challenge my baby brother, Bertie."

Rob got up and cracked his knuckles. "Alright Ed, I'm going to head down there to kill him."

I stood with him and started climbing down to get a closer seat. "Don't get arrested, we still gotta head to Ecruteak."

Roger stood confidently on the left trainer block. Rob was on a right one, already lightly tossing a Poké Ball in the air and catching it. Their faces showed up on the VS board. Roger wore his uniform against a light blue background, making it look like a recent driver's license photo. Rob seemed younger in his. He was scrawny and his hair was neatly cut and combed. A wide confident smile was planted on his face.

Between the two pictures were six lit red and green lights. The red lights were to the right of Roger's picture. Green lights, right of Rob's. Below the pictures was a counter that read SWITCH OUTS: 0/0.

Everyone gathered as close to the glass as they could. I leaned against the railing, ready to take in whatever I could learn about battling and to see how Rob handled his Pokémon.

The voice of the female Champion from before spoke through the speakers. "This will be an informal duel with basic rules. Both have agreed that there will be no switching, and that the first to have three Pokémon knocked out is the loser. Also, because this is a recreational event, there will be no Pokémon used with a High Threat Level.

"The challenger goes first."

On cue, Roger activated and threw out a Poké Ball. The light unleashed let loose a yellow, skinny dog too small for the battle plot. It sat down and licked its smooth white mane. I took out my PokéDex.

_"Jolteon, the Lightning Pokémon. Jolteon's cells generate a low level of electricity. This power is amplified by the static electricity of its fur, enabling the Pokémon to drop thunderbolts. The bristling fur is made of electrically charged needles."_

Rob put the ball he was tossing back into his vest and pulled out another. He activated it and dropped it in front of his block, letting his Umbreon out. Umbreon was already lying down as the Poké Ball light around it faded out. Like before, she was stiff. I wondered what she could possibly do.

Rob adjusted his headset. "What a messed up family reunion. I gave you that Eevee."

Roger pointed forward. "Apollo! Thunderbolt!"

The Jolteon's fur stood up, then bunches of its hair curled up at the tips, making the Pokémon look like it was covered in yellow and white spikes. Electricity fluxed from its body.

"Now!" commanded Roger.

Apollo let loose a bolt of lightning big, bright, and loud enough that would've made Shox run away. I closed my eyes, seeing the white, green, and blue afterimage of the bolt going across the plot to Umbreon.

I had to blink again when I saw Umbreon, but in disbelief. She laid there with no kind of movement at all.

"Did that even hit?" I asked aloud.

"Yeah," a short trainer next to me said. "Or I think it did. Doesn't seem like it did anything though."

"What was that for?" Rob asked, as if someone bumped into him. "Look at what you did."

Umbreon got on its feet and shook its fur. Then its crimson eyes glowed. A large red strike of lightning cracked from her body, to Apollo.

Apollo dashed to the side, avoiding the blast so that it hit Roger's block. He grabbed onto the railing to keep himself from falling back. Below him, the red lightning left a large smoking burn in the metal.

"Keep her on her feet Apollo!" he shouted.

Umbreon ran over to the center of the plot, watching Apollo circle her. Rob still had Umbreon's Poké Ball out with one hand in his pocket. Roger leaned forward against the railing, gritting his teeth together.

Rob rubbed his nose. "Umbreon, finish him off. Get it done, now."

Umbreon sat down again. The lights above flickered and dimmed. Roger looked up at them and jumped back.

"Oh shit! Apollo! Take her down!"

Apollo launched forward and threw his body into her. The brightness of the room went back to normal. Roger broke into a cold sweat and bit his lip as Apollo stood on top of Umbreon as if this was his one chance.

Roger bit his thumbnail. "Pin Missile!"

The tips of Apollo's fur glowed yellow, and unleashed another electric discharge. Umbreon was unfazed as she struggled to get from under Apollo.

Small, sharp, and short zaps of electricity spat from Apollo's fur onto Umbreon's head and around it. The light from the blasts accumulated, making everyone shield their eyes.

The sounds of the zaps reached nearly a hundred in only a few seconds. When the sound stopped after a minute, I continued looking at the fight.

Umbreon was chasing Apollo around the plot. Where the two were just locked together, thousands of small burn marks from the zaps were gathered together in one gigantic mark. The smoke from it made the glass cloudy.

"Damn Roger, "Rob said. He applauded. "I never knew that one would pack a punch like that. You might just beat me if you keep that up."

He stopped clapping. "Umbreon, do a big pulse now." He coughed. "Use the smoke, and clear it out if you can."

Roger was shrouded in the cover of the smoke. "FLASH!" he shouted.

Again, everyone had to block their eyes. A brief, bright flare of light came from within the plot. When I opened my eyes again, Umbreon was in a corner, dazed and shaking its head, trying to get a solid stance. She was at the edge of the plot.

The smoke cleared from in front of Roger just in time to see him with a victory smirk. His hair was untidy, making him look like a skinnier Rob.

"Apollo! Take down again!"

Out of the cloud of smoke, Apollo dashed toward a dazed Umbreon. He charged her, and she went rolling past the marker, into the glass. She got up on her feet, but Rob returned her before she could retaliate. On the scoreboard, the top two green lights next to Rob's face turned off.

Rob tossed Umbreon's ball into the air and caught it. "A son defeating his mother? Nice. Good job Rodge."

"Shut up. You talk so goddamn much," Roger said. "Hurry up and throw down."

"You sure are anxious to win. Let me guess, if I manage to beat your Apollo, you'll throw out that Typhlosion of yours or that Hippowdon you caught in Hoenn. Then you'll have a 'guaranteed' win because you'd do that Wall of Hell stuff."

Rob put Umbreon's ball in his vest and took out another ball.

"Now, I'll admit, you're good at clearing streets and catching criminals, but you don't know a single thing about being a trainer." The humor left his voice. "I'm almost insulted that you even thought of challenging me on my own turf, Rodge. I'm the actual Trainer here. You're just a Champion. You've never been a trainer so, tell me, how did you plan on actually beating me? I battle for a living and I'm willing to think that the only Champion in Johto that could actually put up more of a fight than knocking my Pokémon out the ring walked out of here with that fancy cape."

Apollo walked over to Roger's block and waited. Roger rolled his eyes. "What are you getting at? Seriously, it's as if you put me being a Champion before me being your brother. And this is embarrassing as Hell."

Rob chuckled. "Yeah, we don't need to be talking with these speakers telling everyone our business. I tell you what. You win. I'm letting you win because this game wasn't following good rules anyway. But I will show you that I would've had this game won from the start."

Rob tossed the ball. The light it unleashed grew tall, bigger than I had seen before. The light went past my eye level, making me look up. Both tall and just as wide, I couldn't help but wonder what kind of Pokémon Rob just let out.

The light cleared and revealed a bunch of boulders bundled together in a pile. When the boulders move, I waited for something to crawl out of them. Instead, the boulders lifted themselves up into the air. The topmost boulder was shaped like an arrow with a large fin-like protrusion coming out the top.

When its black beady eyes opened, I fell onto the bleachers. People hollered and screamed around me. Someone stepped on my fingers.

"Oh God it's an Onix! Run!"

"It's gonna kill us all! Oh no, oh my God!"

The Onix lazily looked at everyone scattering. Then it slithered over to Rob, making ear-splitting scraping noises against the concrete. Roger's Apollo howled in agony.

Roger returned Apollo. "Rob! What the hell are you doing? You're disqualified!"

The Onix slithered behind Rob's block and put its head over Rob. Rob scratched its massive lower jaw like a kitten.

"I was qualified to play in this stupid game?" Rob watched everyone run away. "_Oh look at me, I have a dangerous Pokémon._ He wouldn't even hurt a Cleffa."

A number of Champions ran out into the plot, letting out all kinds of fearsome Pokémon. Several Scizors brandished their pincers. Others had stout dark weasel-like Pokémon with a purple mane and sharp, gleaming claws on both hands. Among them, various Pokémon of all sorts of sizes and shapes stood along their Champions, ready to take on Rob's Onix.

Rob returned it. Seeing its entire body get enveloped into the red light was an impressive sight. "Goddamn, that's overkill."

He deactivated the ball and set it next to his feet. He held his hands up into the air. The female Champion from before stepped forward with a Scizor at her side.

"Take your Onix and leave the Tent. If we find that Onix out in the city limits, we will arrest you, fine you, and kill it."

Rob smirked. "I understand completely. But if anyone's going to frisk me, I hope it's you. I swear, even though you all are a bunch of prudes, girl Champions almost always look good. How about after this, we hang out? You'd be lying to yourself if you didn't think what I did was impressive."

Everyone remaining in the Tent stared at him in disbelief at how lightly he took the situation, except for me. I laughed despite my fingers being crushed. The girl didn't. She was blushing and looking down at her boots.

"Rob, just leave," Roger muttered.

Rob ordered pizza for me and Nina that night. I told Nina everything that happened and she listened as she completed some homework.

"And then he threw out an Onix," I said, taking another slice. "God those things are scary up close, but he showed that it was gentle. The Champions were ready to kill it though."

"Wait," Nina said, scribbling some complicated math equation. "Your brother picked a fight with you, because you called his girlfriend out, but you didn't want to win because you knew you were better than him? Then why'd you fight to begin with?"

"To show him up and scare him a bit," Rob said. He sat beside me on the couch, holding the entire pizza box in his lap. "He's not a trainer, so I figured he shouldn't try to be one. His Jolteon was nice though."

He took out a slice. The cheese dripped onto the cardboard. "He can't beat me. All he can do is be a hero and do research."

The taste of pizza had become foreign to me. The moist cheesiness and the tender pepperoni brought back memories of home when Gavin took care of me when Mom and Dad were gone. They'd leave him money to order food.

"Here's a tip for you Ed. When you're fighting Dark Pokémon, try to focus on using physical attacks against them. Dark Pokémon typically aren't strong fighters, but make up for it in other ways. That electric attack Rodge did did hit my Umbreon. The thing was, my Umbreon is just that tough."

I took it to heart.

"Oh yeah, Ed. This brother stuff made me remember something," Nina said. She got up and took the pizza box from Rob. "Professor Gavin Willow came by my school today for a seminar. I didn't even think about you two being related."

I made sure to chew my pizza slowly so I wouldn't choke.

"I told him about you and how you're staying here. For someone who was boring enough to put half the class asleep, he got really excited hearing about you. Come with me to school tomorrow so you can see him."

"Wow, what's with the family reunions?" Rob said. "First me and Rodge, then my Umbreon and her son, then you and your brother." He took another bite.

Gavin was in Goldenrod. I was actually looking forward to seeing him. When he gave me June, he was the only one who actually treated me like a normal person. But there was one issue with this.

Every time Gavin went on a research or business trip to a fancy city like Goldenrod or Celadon City in Kanto, Mom would hitch a ride with him.

Tomorrow turned out to be one of the most awkward days I've had in my life.

_---_

_Now that this chapter's been posted, you can expect a chapter in about a week or two. Hopefully you enjoyed it. Drop a review telling me what you thought._


	19. Chapter XIX: There Is No Problem

_  
---Author's Note---_

_Sorry for the long wait. School and all. Part 1 of the story is almost over!!!_

_---_

**Chapter XIX: There Are No Problems**

_There have only been two creations of Pokémon No. 150._

_The first one destroyed the Cinnabar Pokémon Lab and soared into the air. We refer to him as a 'he' because he was able to communicate with us through telepathy. He warned that he'd get out, and he actually did once he gained our trust. He told us he wanted to see the world without the Wave Blocker on his face, and he took full advantage of the situation._

_He escaped us, but nobody knew anything about him. Apparently he was encountered in the Cerulean Cave but nothing else has happened._

_The second version, we call 'It." This thing was an abomination and actively hunted down humans. It exhibited the same psychic abilities as the first version, but this one couldn't communicate. This one was filled with so much rage and animosity against life that we could feel our throats slightly constrict every time we worked near him while he was in his tube._

_For the second time, the Cinnabar Lab was destroyed. After killing a bunch of us, it went after the islanders. For three days, it hid in the shadows and struck down people. We'd find bodies contorted in gruesome ways, as if it wanted to see how many times it could fold a person._

_When the Champions found it, they all worked together to stop it. I watched as they ripped its body into pieces. Not a cell was left because we hypothesized that the Pokémon 0 genes in it became unstable. If they were to somehow get inside another Pokémon, that Pokémon would be torn to pieces as well._

_~Lavender Hensly – Former Cinnabar Lab Aide_

_~*~*  
_  
I heard the subway doors slide open, but I had to push through the morning crowd of people to get to them.

I was in the Radio Tower District, right in the center of the city. The skyscrapers towered down a long street, reflecting the sunlight to make a golden sheen across the windows. At the end of the street, the Goldenrod Radio Tower stood as Johto's one contemporary monument. The bottom half of the building was a black, gothic skyscraper that stood a few floors taller than the buildings around it. The top half was the actual radio tower with the orange and white antenna reaching the clouds.

I took in the air and could taste the smell of hotdog and pretzel stands on the street corners. My stomach grumbled over how I needed breakfast. Nina fought her way out the train beside me and took in the air as well.

"I feel like today's going to be a nice day." She fixed her backpack's straps, and then took out her cell phone to see the time. "It's 30 minutes 'til class and it's a 20 minute walk. You want to get some breakfast? There's this diner I go to before going to school and it sells the best egg and sausage biscuits in the city."

We stopped by the diner and she paid for both of us. Soon we were walking with all the commerce folk up the street. I felt out of place and watched people pass us, speaking on their high tech phones and wearing their fancy suits. These people were in a career world I figured I may as well give up thinking about. In fact, I didn't know what I was going to do with my future. The present needed too much of my attention.

"So how's it like having a Pokémon Professor as your brother?" Nina asked. She crumpled up her biscuit paper and threw it in a trashcan. I had only taken a bite out of mine. The steam from its heat had long gone out.

I took a bite. "It's alright I guess."

"He never showed you his work?" She said. "It seems like being family to a Pokémon Professor would be awesome."

I shrugged and gave a little lie. "Gavin never brought anything about Pokémon to the house. He was normal. He'd leave in the morning to go to his lab and then come back at night."

Gavin did point out things about the Pidgey in the yard pecking at the grass, or talk about baby Spinarak gathered on a web made on a bush. However, he never did bring a Pokémon back with him from work.

"Did he ever tell you about what kind of work he did? Do you at least know _why_ he's famous?"

Her tone at the end annoyed me. "Even though I wasn't into Pokémon, I knew what he was known for. The people on the news talked about it more. He researches Pokémon evolution and I think he did something for Legendaries."

We stopped at a signal light at the corner of a street. Nina pressed the button on the lamppost. "Yeah, he researches how and why Pokémon evolve, but he focuses on special evolution, like with Elemental Stones."

The crowd of people around us started crossing. We followed. "Why would he be at your school? Aren't you trying to be an engineer or something?" Now it was my turn to figure out stuff about her. "What does an engineer do exactly? And why be one?" I asked.

Nina got out of the way of a lavishly-dressed woman with a live Furret wrapped around her neck. "The technology that handles Pokémon is mind-blowing. You don't have a Box, right? You should get a Box to see what I mean. You've been to a Pokémon Center though, haven't you? Haven't they teleported your Poké Balls before? Hell, the fact that a Blue Wailord can be crammed into a tiny Poké Ball is enough."

Her face glowed she spoke. I probably touched on a treasured dream, which I couldn't help but envy and enjoy at the same time. "So an engineer works on new technology, and you want to be a Pokémon Engineer, and they probably work on technology that handles Pokémon."

She nodded. "You got it. One day, back when I was in the 5th grade, my class took a field trip to the Silph Corporation. Rob told you I was from Kanto, right? I lived in Saffron City and kids there are sort of pushed toward being engineers. Anyway, so we went to the Silph Corporation and saw all kinds of crazy old inventions and concept designs for current things like Poké Balls and Pokémon Boxes. I always had an interest in computers and stuff, but after that field trip, I focused on Pokémon technology."

"That's awesome," I said. "You have a lot of computer stuff in your apartment, and a huge TV, so you must really know your technology. What did you think about the Zero Ball I gave you?"

Nina shot me a glare that told me my mouth ran too far. "Sorry!" I said. I looked down and across the street. No fancy blue coats in sight.

"We'll have to talk about that back in my apartment," she murmured. Her voice picked up. "But _that_ technology is the coolest."

I kept quiet for a bit, afraid to say anything stupid again. I figured we needed a new conversation. "So, how'd you meet Rob? He was going to tell me yesterday but we got kinda distracted."

Nina chuckled, then somehow mixed in a giggle. "You're awfully nosy."

I wanted to say that Rob was awfully secretive. "I just wanna know. It's kind of cool actually."

"Cool?"

"Yeah."

"How you figure?"

We walked into a driveway, passing a sign that read _Goldenrod Tech_. A bunch of cars came past us to enter the parking lot, which was sprawled out in front of a wide, four-story building with dishes and blinking lights on the top.

"Well, he's all happy-go-lucky and he doesn't think. And you're…well…I dunno. More driven?"

Nina adjusted her glasses. "Driven? I dunno, but he does have his own goals. He wants to be a powerful Trainer and he also wants to help all trainers. I just want to work with Poké Balls really."

I sneezed. The chilly air was starting to get to my arms. "Yesterday was the only time I've ever seen him in an actual battle. Back in Violet, he used his Charizard to take on a bunch of Trainers. I wish I could see him use all his Pokémon, especially after seeing his Umbreon and Onix."

Nina chuckled slightly. "Well, find him a Trainer who can make him use all his Pokémon. When we first met, he was just getting out of only using his Charmeleon. While he trained his other Pokémon for the Saffron Gym battle, he crashed at my place."

Every now and then, Trainers passing by would ask my parents if they could spend a night in our house. Dad would say no. "Your parents didn't mind?"

Nina gave me a warm smile. Her glasses reflected the morning sun. "Rob didn't tell you? I was an orphan."

I blushed in embarrassment and almost stumbled over an orange speed bump. "Wow. I'm sorry. I didn't know."

She giggled. "No, it's fine. I don't let the fact that I never knew my parents get to me. I grew up around other kids like me, so yeah, no harm done. Anyway, when I met Rob, my foster father had gotten me my own place so I could go to school and study in peace. He was actually the one who introduced me to Rob, so yeah, I guess Dad was ok with him staying with me. He's the reason why Rob's a good Trainer. Dad teaches him."

A pickup truck passed us. "Rob never told me about anyone teaching him."

"As Steven Steele said, 'The path to greatness is a staircase, where you must stand on the shoulders of those standing on others' shoulders,'" Nina said.

The quote made me think of some guy stepping all over people. "Rob? Great? That's a lot of praise."

Nina looked up at the grey sky. "Well Dad's a great trainer. If Rob sticks with him, he'll probably be great too."

I smirked. "And that means I'll be great too!"

She pulled my hat off and ruffled my hair. "And you're Rob's pick? You're such a dork."

I pushed her hand away, even though I would've let her mess with my hair all day. We joked around as we crossed the parking lot. As the building approached, my backpack got heavier. Rob and Nina suggested I bring all my stuff just in case Gavin wanted me to stay with him. The news said that the Lockdown was still in effect, so Rob and I decided that we'd leave for Ecruteak as soon as it was lifted.

The wait was taking forever. If it wasn't for the possibility that I'd run into my mom, I'd be willing to see Gavin.

When we entered the building, I was caught off guard. There was Gavin, sitting at a coffee table, talking to two Champions and other plain-clothed men. He looked exactly like he had always been; lanky, sporting a polo shirt with pens in the chest pocket, plastic-rimmed glasses, and my family's red and curly hair cut down to his ears.

He caught sight of me. My heart skipped. The men he was talking to stared at him as he shot up.

"Ed?" He took a step. His face reminded me of when he got his first mountain bike from Dad. Wide green eyes. Growing grin. "Ed? Ed!"

A lump formed in my throat. Nina gave me a light shove, which was all I needed to run to Gavin. I dropped my backpack. We embraced each other.

"Gavin!" I found myself saying. My arms held onto him. Despite all the doubts I thought of after leaving home, it felt good to hug family again.

He had my face in his calloused hands, rubbing his thumbs against the skin under my eyes. "Ed…when I heard you were in Goldenrod, I started thanking God for making me agree to do a seminar here. How've you been doing? Oh my God look at you! You're a damned Trainer! You got your stuff? You're staying at my place." He hugged me again. I buried my face into his shoulder, trying to prevent the tears from running. I had been such a crybaby and I wasn't about to let him see that part of me.

"Ed, I've been waiting for you to use your Box this whole time. What happened? You never logged in," he said.

"I have a Box?" I asked.

Gavin slapped his forehead. "You shouldn't have left so soon Ed. We had too many things to go over. You never got your Trainer's handbook; we never went over the actual game…too many things." He sighed, and then he put his hands on my shoulders. "But I'm glad you're ok."

Seeing Gavin was almost enough to make up for me being kidnapped.

His eyes cast downward. "I know I kind of rushed in saying that you're staying with me, but do you want to? Mom and Dad told me about that phone call a few weeks ago. They're torn to pieces."

I smirked. "'Torn to pieces?' How'd they look?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"What do you think I mean? Why do you think I left home so early? They obviously wanted me out the house, so I left."

Gavin frowned. I killed the moment. He looked over his shoulder at a growing crowd of older students and faculty. "Hey Ed, we'll talk about this after the seminar. We'll talk on the way to my apartment."

He turned his head back around. He pulled on my hair. "Wow, you have a mane now. Mom would die if she saw this."

Mom cut both of our hair, as well as dressed me for school each morning. Back then, Mom was awesome.

A familiar person with brushed brown hair came trotting out of the crowd of Champions and students. The glasses he wore gave him an intellectual look. Even though he was wearing a tight red T-shirt, Alfred stuck out to me.

"Professor Willow! You left an Everstone in the truck." He held out a coarse white stone that was as big as a baseball.

"Thanks Champion Hamilton." Gavin took the stone and examined it. Alfred and I locked eyes.

"You're that Trainer I fought in Azalea Town. How splendid," he said. I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. He held out a friendly hand to me. I took it with an insecure grip.

He saw both me and Gavin together, and then he noticed our hair and eyes. "Willow…I figured you two were brothers. It didn't click with me then though."

"Yeah, this is my younger brother, Ed. You two fought?" Gavin's eyebrows furrowed in surprise.

"He won his second badge from me," Alfred said. "He has more than decent problem solving skills. You should be proud of him."

Gavin gave me a shove. "Oh wow Ed. You beat a Champion? Good job!"

"Of course I had him fight Pokémon that were adequate for second tier Trainers," Alfred said. "Ed, do you have another badge? You're here in Goldenrod and I can see your Combusken doing wonders in the city Gym."

Gavin's head jerked back. "Combusken?" He looked at me. "The Torchic I gave you. It turned to a Combusken already?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but Alfred beat me to it. "It was a premature evolution. The Pokémon covered itself in its flames and forced itself to evolve."

"Oh did it?" Gavin said. "Still, I'm just impressed that you trained her to want to win. Good job Ed, you have to let me look at your Pokémon sometime."

Gavin got up. "Alright, well I have to go. You have all your stuff with you so I can take you to my place tonight?"

I nodded.

"Good," he said. "I need to thank that girl. Her name's Nina, right? Where is she?"

"She's gone?" I turned around. Nina was, in fact, gone.

Gavin rubbed his naked chin. "Well, if she's here, then I'll probably see her after the seminar. It'll go by quick so be ready to leave. See you Ed."

He left with Alfred, holding onto the Everstone. Both went into the auditorium, followed by everyone else. I stayed behind to wait for Nina.

Down the hall, Nina came out of the women's bathroom wiping her mouth with a wet paper towel. Her skin was drained of its peachiness.

I ran up to her. "Nina? You ok? You don't look too good."

She struggled to smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. That idiot of a Champion ought to know better than to run around with one of those stones out like that. They mess up my head."

Something told me that, if the stone had negative effects on people, Gavin would've said something to Alfred about it. I didn't feel a thing so I shrugged it off. Perhaps Nina got sick easily. Gavin did when he was younger. He got the flu twice in one year.

We went into the auditorium and took a seat in the very back since the whole place was filled. Gavin was on stage with a bunch of other professors and a few suited Champions in the background. Alfred was at the corner of the stage, absorbed in Gavin's talk about evolution through Elemental Stones.

I learned a lot about the radiation Elemental Stones give and how certain Pokémon are affected by them. The concept seemed easy enough: just keep a stone around a particular Pokémon and it'll evolve. Gavin described it as a mutation however, especially when he talked about Moon Stones, which were crystallized meteorites. Some Pokémon actively search for Elemental Stones in order to survive in natural hierarchies, but most wild Pokémon are never exposed them and live out their lives normally.

Then he went a bit into Wave Theory and how the radiation only altered a Pokémon's Natural Wave. This lead to him to talk about Everstones, which prevented any exposed Pokémon from evolving. He explained that Everstones have nullifying properties that prevent a Pokémon's Natural Wave from changing enough to affect the Pokémon's physique and abilities.

The seminar lasted for an hour and a half. By the end, I had a new perspective on evolution. A Pokemon could turn into anything. Who said I couldn't make June fly? For all anyone knew, there was probably a stone out there that could make her grow wings.

When Gavin came down from the stage, I told him and he laughed, telling me it might be possible.

"You never know," he said. Then he quoted himself, "'Pokémon can turn into anything.'"

He thanked Nina and she gave me a farewell. Gavin took my backpack and put it in the trunk of a car he rented to get around in Goldenrod and we were on our way.

We talked and it felt awkward. I trusted Gavin, but I wasn't sure if I could tell him everything. I doubted that he'd turn me in to officials, but I didn't want to put a burden on him. But there were a few things I wanted to ask him.

"Why did the city go on a lockdown?" I asked. I watched the buildings pass by outside my window.

He kept his eyes on the road. "Word got out that some Team Zero Administrators were in Goldenrod," Gavin replied.

"Then why do the Lockdown? What if a Trainer got attacked by someone and couldn't defend himself with his Pokémon?"

Gavin was forced to stop his car due to congested traffic. "It's a very callous method, but the whole plan was to lure Team Zero out by making Trainers weak. Then when Team Zero showed up, the Champions would notice and strike."

I frowned. "There had to be a lot of debate about that. I doubt Champion Abel would let that happen."

Gavin scratched his head and put on some light rock music. "Wow, listen to yourself Ed. You're actually interested in what's going on around you. You've grown up."

"Well I had no choice," I said. "Anyway, Champion Abel wouldn't have let that happen and every Champion I've met that graduated in one of those schools seems to hate Trainers. Could you explain that? It makes no sense, especially when they're supposed to be helping everyone and everything."

Gavin did his signature chin-pinch. "I've noticed the same thing too and it's a pattern among younger Champions. All the older Champions like Abel are very respectful toward trainers and go as far as to hold charity programs for them like that Battle Tent event yesterday."

I came to a conclusion after he mentioned the Battle Tent. I slumped in my chair. "I'm guessing they don't care because the Amber Act is helping everyone and everything out right?"

"It seems that way," Gavin said. "I think they're following the 'If if it's not broken, don't fix it' saying. I think the Amber Act terrible, but the Four Regions have been going up in power in technology, economy, military, everything."

For the first time, I noticed that my hair was touching my shoulder. I curled my finger around a strand. "Well the Amber Act is broken because not all people like being a Trainer if they're forced into it. Also, you're the first person to mention anything about the military to me."

I tapped my feet to the music, and then I realized Gavin didn't respond. I looked at him and saw his surprise. "What is it?"

"Damn Ed, what happened to you since you left?"

That was the first time he had ever cursed in front of me. I would've made a joke but I wanted to keep the conversation going. "A lot. Now what did you mean by the military? All I ever hear is that raid on Arcea and that was something I learned in history class."

Gavin retracted his head and blinked. When the traffic started moving, he went back to focusing on driving. "Well you know about it then. After the Champions destroyed Arcea, the other countries started seeing the Regions as a superpower, if that's the right word for it. You know we're the only people in the world who use Pokémon as weapons, and the Champions proved how effective they are. Arcea was the most technologically advanced place in the world. The fact that the Champions took out Arcea made other countries respect them. A lot of Champions like to point out how there hasn't been an international skirmish since the attack."

What he said made sense, but it made me want to bring up more things. "Before I went to Azalea, I ran into a bunch of Unown and they were spelling weird stuff and messing with my head. It was almost like they were telling the future."

"Oh really? What did they say? Unown do have precognitive abilities," Gavin said.

We entered a part of Goldenrod where houses had yards and weren't clumped up together. "'Chaos.' 'Stagnation.' 'Life.' 'Organism.'"

"You were there?" Gavin asked. "I saw that on the news. Team Zero members caught some of the Unown and got away."

"I didn't see any," I lied. "So what do you think the words meant? I think they're saying that the Amber Act isn't working as well as the Champions think."

"Yeah, I thought so too," Gavin said. "A lot of people who disagree with the Amber Act talk about how it's just people procrastinating upcoming overpopulation issues."

"Overpopulation of Pokémon?" I asked.

"No, people." Gavin stopped at a light. "Now tell me, why does it feel weird talking to you about this? I can't get over the fact we're talking about news and the world's concerns."

"Are you saying you don't want to, or are you saying I can't?"

Gavin steered the car down a quiet street and into the driveway of a wide square building with fields behind it with all sorts of Pokémon roaming around.

He parked the car next to a bunch of vans. "I think I'm saying that I don't have to be afraid for you anymore. I figured you'd come out on top, but I had no idea that you'd be the badass you are now."

I was taken aback. Before I could say anything, he was out of the car and opening the trunk to get my backpack.

~*~*

Gavin's place turned out to be a Pokémon research facility a lot more homely than the one back in New Bark. Here we were, watching the news on a projector TV, with a few other scientists who were drinking coffee and chatting in a corner.

"This is where I'll be staying from now on," Gavin said. He was reclined back, reading the comic section of a newspaper. "The League liked my research and figured I should be the head of a new lab."

A commercial popped up about an upcoming segment on Team Zero. "Nice," I said. I leaned forward on my couch.

"Yeah. I don't have to be up under Mom and Dad now."

He went back to reading. I decided to take out all my Poké Balls. I noticed I hadn't put Nick's name on his ball.

"Alright," Gavin said. "Which one? Are we going to talk about Mom and Dad or are we going to get your Box squared away? Both have to be handled before you leave."

Gavin always prioritized and made lists. This was how he got so much work done. The fact that he put a talk about Mom and Dad on his mental list made me remember the good days with him. He knew exactly how lightly things should be taken, but he never saw things as foolish as Rob or treated things as science projects. He got that from Dad. I was more like Mom who thought about everything.

"I don't even know how long I'll be here," I said. "Me and a friend plan on leaving right after the Lockdown's over."

"Where to?" he asked.

"Ecruteak."

Gavin pinched his chin. "What a coincidence. Look at the TV."

I expected the Team Zero segment to be like those over-the-top whodunit shows, but instead, it was informative though biased against them. The first few minutes talked about how the group probably started through a Pokémon Master and ex-Champion named Victor Frost who left the League after some Psychic Pokémon escaped a Poké Ball factory.

An old picture of him shown up on the screen as the newscasters talked about his past. Despite his name, Frost looked like a handsome, happy guy. He had stringy blond hair that drooped down to his shoulders and dimples from a large grin. He had beady blue eyes that stood out against his pink skin and prominent nose. With two decades taken away from the picture, a smaller nose, brown eyes, and dark hair, he could've been Rob.

"I've always wanted to meet him," Gavin said. "He's a world-renown Ghost Pokémon Master and he's the one who trained Champion Abel."

The segment talked about how he was the currently under the guise of Zero, the leader of Team Zero and that he should be considered armed and dangerous at all times.

"I guess he got tired of the Amber Act," I said.

"He was the most outspoken against it," Gavin said. "When he left, apparently Team Zero popped up. By logic, the League thinks he's the one who made it. But since nobody's seen him, people think he's hiding as Zero, dead, or far away from the Four Regions because he hates the country."

Footage of Team Zero in action started up. The camera watched as hundreds of hooded people ran down a street, throwing out swarms of Zubat and Golbat with their Zero Balls. Some used regular Poké Balls and let loose Pokémon to combat the numerous Champions. The newscaster read that the footage came from a battle six years ago in Sinnoh, when Team Zero failed at kidnapping starters from a Pokémon Lab.

"I remember seeing this in school," Gavin said. He put his paper down. "They're about to show Zero! Look!"

The cameraman ran into a building to get shelter from the chaos. He posted near a window and kept filming the battle. When a purple mist appeared behind the Team Zero members, he picked the camera back up and zoomed in.

The mist spiraled into a small ball in the palms of a peculiar Zero member. Instead of wearing a hoodie, he wore a black cloak that was zipped all the way up to the collar. The Champions riding on the backs of dragon and bird Pokémon flew toward him. I noticed he wore the same mask as the rest of them, but his hood covered most of it, including his hair if he had any.

He clamped his hands together, crushing the ball. A shockwave boomed from the pressure, knocking the Champions out of the air.

"Zero used a move called Shadow Ball," Gavin explained. "He made a ball out of ghost energy and crushed it."

"What the hell?" was all that could come out of my mouth. "Did he just use a Pokémon move? Was he a Pokémon?"

Gavin smirked at my reaction. "Yep for the first. People still wonder about the second."

Zero began to float up into the air. The cameraman watched him rise into the grey sky.

"This isn't fake?" I asked.

"Champions have the scars to prove it wasn't," Gavin answered.

The floating Zero hovered above the members. He folded his arms. The loose fabric of his cloak blew in the air like he was a rag. It was as if he was watching and waiting when his Team needed his help.

Then I remembered the cloaked figure from when Team Zero rescued me from those two guys who wanted to break me. The figure on TV was more upright. What I saw back with the Team Zero members was some guy hunched over as if he had an illness with his back.

The segment cut off the camera footage and went on explaining more about Team Zero and other past events linked to them, but no other Zero sightings.

"People think that if Zero isn't Frost, then it's probably another Mewtwo that went rogue."

When I was in second grade, kids used to play a type of Tag game where whoever was It was called Mewtwo. When the Mewtwo tagged someone, they were Dead and were out completely. Whoever lasted the longest won the game. The Mewtwo chose who'd be the next Mewtwo and we'd start over.

I cursed my naivety. I knew Mewtwo was a Pokémon but I never stopped to think about where the game came from.

"What's a Mewtwo?" I asked Gavin.

He looked at his watch and got up. "I gave you a PokéDex for a reason. Now come with me, I have to get your Box situated or I'm going to go crazy."

I followed him through the facility while navigating through my PokéDex. I found Mewtwo's page and was nearly stunned by how weird the Pokémon looked with its pure white skin and twig-like arms and muscular legs. It looked almost like a cat with its small ears, but its face held the most contempt I've ever seen on a Pokémon. The frown on its face was too human and its eyes were enraged, making its violet pupils pierce through the screen.

_"Mewtwo is a Pokémon that was created by genetic manipulation,"_ my Dex said. _"After escaping a research facility in Kanto, Mewtwo began to attack people in uncontrollable anger. The Pokémon was eliminated before it could do more damage." _

"What did Mewtwo do?" I asked Gavin, putting my PokéDex away.

He grabbed a lab coat off a coat hanger we passed by and put it on. "Basically, some Cinnabar Island scientists made him and he went crazy and killed a bunch of islanders. The Champions tore it to pieces, so they say. You won't learn anything about it from a Champion though. They call the whole thing a mistake and leave it at that."

I imagined Alfred cutting me short if I ever asked him about Mewtwo. "That doesn't surprise me."

Gavin led me to the basement. The entire area reminded me of the lab back home, except the walls were lined with shelves that held Poké Balls. Above each ball was a hanging plate of light. I watched the Poke Balls glowed, and disappeared while some reappeared. Scientists were writing on clipboards with Magnemite floating around their shoulders, some with Poké Balls stuck to their magnets.

"Where are the Boxes?" I asked. We came to a wall lined with fancy, sleek computers mounted on hanging platforms.

Gavin chuckled. "You thought there'd be actual boxes? I thought you were more grown up than that." He pressed a few keys. A window popped up asking for my Trainer ID. He kept typing and the ID showed up as asterisks.

"If you had stayed home for about another day, I would've told you that I picked your ID out."

"You did?" I tried to remember what my ID was. It looked like a word.

"Well sort of," he said. He kept one hand typing on the keyboard. "Usually, I don't pick them, but I wanted to find one for you that'll be easy to remember. R3C1A1M was at the top of the list of available IDs."

I remembered the word and now I could give it meaning. "When I left, you were the only one who treated me like normal."

Gavin smiled. "Why would I have treated you any different? And let me hold one of your Poké Balls."

I gave him June's. "Well Mom and Dad flipped on me." I looked away and my voice fell so the other researchers couldn't hear me. "To be honest, I sort of thought that you believed in me, even though you didn't say it. Or at least, I wanted to think you believed in me."

All I got was a chuckle from him as he put June's ball in the transfer chamber. "Now you're the little brat I had to look after. Why do you think I thought 'Reclaim' for an ID was so cool? You're going to reclaim your life. You haven't given up, and I feel like you're going to get five more badges just fine!"

I watched June's ball glow, and then disappear. A large green checkmark flashed on the screen.

"Congratulations Ed," Gavin said. "You now have your own Pokémon Box to store your Pokémon in."

He rubbed his nose. "Now, how about we ask the chef for something to eat? I had to skip breakfast today and the drive here took too long."

I can't dedicate this book to Gavin enough.


	20. Chapter XX: The Hunter

_-----Author's Note: After a hellish ending to a semester, I'm back to add more chapters._

_-----Another note: Had to reupload. A few fixes.  
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**Chapter XX: The Collector**

_[Escaping the lab made me realize how much free will a being can have. Yet, the opposite came with me when I tried to make a living in the human-controlled world. My goal was to find a purpose for my existence, but I'm reduced to hiding._

_All I do is hide. I've become accustomed to the dank shadows and the monolithic stalagmites that surround me. I eat the fungus that spreads near the cave's canals or I'll pull a fish out and eat it._

_My eyes have become useless. After all these decades, all I can physically see is darkness. The slightest glimmer of light irritates me and forces me to hide or put out its source._

_The Pokémon in the cave are the ones who hide me. They keep the curious spelunking humans away from my nest. I am able to communicate with them through our Natural Waves and they tell me stories about the outside. This is how I learned about you._

_A humorous fact is that my ability to communicate with Pokémon is innate apparently. That, or Pokémon pity me in contrast to the humans that hate me. I suspect Pokémon 0 have the same ability too._

_I can read your mind, and I've already decided I'm going to remain in the cave and listen to what happens outside._

_I also can't tell where Zero is. I lost track of him four months ago.]_

_-Mewtwo (pt 1/6)_

_~*~*  
_

The hulking crag roared and pounded its four fists together. Sparks flew from its rocky knuckles. The Graveler took a step forward and left a deep footprint. As it lifted its foot, soil and grubs hung off the heel.

Gavin stood behind his Pokémon, putting his pipe to his mouth. "I've been raising this big guy since freshman year of college. He's durable, so do whatever you want."

Gavin had insisted he see June in battle. I let June out in front of me and she got into her ready pose, baring her yellow knuckles.

"I won't have my Graveler attack," Gavin said. "I just want to see what June can do and how."

I learned that Pokémon that specialized in fighting or martial arts could most likely break stones, so I wanted June to stick to using her explosion attack. However, she charged the Graveler and let loose a flurry of kicks followed by a roundhouse. The Graveler rolled onto his back from the impact, but tilted himself onto his stubby feet, arms stretched out for more. Unharmed and unhindered.

"You didn't give a command," Gavin said. "June's trained to do that around Rock Pokémon? That's good common sense."

June had been acting on her own after I got the Goldenrod Gym badge. "June, come on over here," I commanded.

She leaped over the Graveler and shot a useless stream of fire at his back. The Graveler turned around to face her.

"June! Come!" I demanded.

June cocked a fist for the Graveler's large, awaiting face. Then she punched. The impact let loose an audible crack, and a thin black line etched up the Graveler's face, near where an ear would be.

Gavin returned his Graveler and minimized the ball.

"How often do you use June, Ed? A lot?"

June was my trump card. "Yeah."

"Stop that," he said. "The more you use her and the more she wins, the less she'll listen to you. She shouldn't have evolved so early like she did. When did you get your second badge again? You must've breezed through the third gym. "

He was making it sound like June couldn't do anything. And so what if she didn't listen to me? She could've whooped that Graveler without my help. "A week ago," I said.

"Yeah, it seems like you kept using her more and more and then she forced herself to evolve," Gavin said. He held out his pipe to June. "Tell her to light it."

June ignored Gavin's approach, looking up at the grey, cloudless sky. "You're an asshole, you know that?" I said.

Gavin took his pipe back and put it in his lips. He took a pack of matches from his lab coat. "I'm simply saying it's common for a good trainer to become a bit cocky and stick to one Pokémon. I mean, it's possible for a guy to only have one and take on everyone, but June knows that you have other Pokémon. She also knows she's your trump card. You keep this up, and she won't listen to you at all. In fact, she'll probably start to resent your other Pokémon because she'll think they're burdens."

I flinched at how he used 'trump card.' Was he pulling this out of his ass? I wanted to argue, but Gavin did have the word 'Professor' before his name.

Gavin struck a match. As it sparked, it exploded. He was sent flying backward in the air and landed on his stomach. His glasses fell to his side.

June had an open hand stretched out toward him. She gave him a look as if to tell him to shut up.

I immediately returned her to her Poké Ball, and then ran to Gavin's side. The smoke from the incinerated match twisted upward into the air.

"Gavin! Are you okay?! I don't know what happened! Are you hurt?!"

He reached for his glasses and let me hoist him up, even though he did most of the work. Other than a seared coat, he was unharmed.

"She's starting to do her own thing," he said. He took a cloth out and cleaned his glasses. His red hair was blasted back, making him look like a clown. An unfunny, burnt clown.

"I'm sorry," I said. I grabbed his hand.

"I'm alright," he said. "Stuff like that happens to me all the time. Just be thankful it was me and not someone else, like a Champion, a cop, or some civilian."

For the first time, I was disappointed in June. I held her ball in my palm and moved it around, wondering what I was going to do with her.

"How can I make her listen to me again?" I asked. "That's the first time she's ever attacked a person."

She was a little, cute thing when I got her, and now she nearly blew up my brother. I started to wonder if I should just put her in my new Box and take her out when she had calmed down.

"Easy," Gavin said. He put on his glasses. "She just needs to lose a battle or two. And I mean just utter loss. Find a trainer who's really good and have her fight him. That'll knock June a few notches down."

Rob and his Charizard flew around in my head. "I know who can do that."

Then I realized how anxious I was becoming over wanting June to get her ass kicked. My enthusiasm dropped. Gavin saw this.

"Yeah," he said, "don't be so eager to lose. Your Pokémon are doing the work. Your best bet would be to head to a Gym and go for the next badge. Ecruteak's should be difficult since the trainers there specialize in ghosts. You'll get tons of experience from it."

That was the plan from the very beginning.

Gavin brushed the dirt of himself. "Though, next time you let her out, make sure I'm not close by."

And that was how my last day in Goldenrod started off, with June almost blowing Gavin up. I spent two hours asking for forgiveness, and he'd continue to act like it was nothing. He finally snapped at me when I told him I was sorry while he was figuring out if he really wanted to eat in the cafeteria. We started walking over to it.

"It's fine! Goddamnit! It's-wait." He looked around to make sure none of his colleagues could hear him. "It's fine."

"You embarrassed?" I cheekily asked. He wanted me to not worry so much, so I stopped worrying and decided to be annoying. Gavin and I got along, but sometimes I'd be the stereotypical brat just to push his buttons.

"Why? Cause a 13 year old is following me around at my job?" He shrugged. "Can't say I'm not. You ought to go home, celebrate summer break."

The fact that he mentioned going back home made me wonder about what he thought about my situation. He was lighthearted about it, so I figured I'd be lighthearted as well.

"I wish, but I gotta get eight badges to do that." I folded my arms behind my head. "And besides, home's boring. I get all kinds of action, girls, money…I get it all."

"Money? How much do you have?" Gavin asked as we entered the cafeteria. He took a seat.

I looked about at the scientists chatting and eating at their tables. I turned my voice down. "About a thousand dollars. See? I don't have to worry about goin' back home."

A beep came from Gavin's coat pocket. He took out a small cellphone and pressed the screen. "Yeah, trainers get money in chunks. You know if you win a championship, you get a million dollars. Dad was saying that you should go for it."

Something told me Dad didn't actually put it so kindly. "Well that gives me another reason to not be a Champion. One, they're douches. Two, Dad probably thinks I'll be worth something if I become one. Worth a million dollars."

Gavin opened his mouth to say something, but I interrupted him. I was starting my tirade. "What the hell was his problem? What was Mom's problem? Jeez, it's like they gave up on me once they were told I had to be a trainer."

"They grew up in bad times," Gavin said. We stood outside the cafeteria doors.

"But they're our parents though," I said. "They didn't even argue with . . . whoever runs the Amber Act. They just got angry at me. I could've died. I ALMOST died. Three times?"

"Almost died three times?" Gavin put his phone away and glared at me. "You didn't say anything about that. What happened?"

For once, a family member was caring. I felt like someone in the heavens was laughing at me.

"I was attacked by Skarmory outside of Violet City. I was chased by a Scyther in Azalea. And I was-"

I stopped myself. Telling Gavin about Pokémon-related mishaps was one thing. Telling him about how I was kidnapped to be some underground fighter probably wouldn't have gone well.

"Was what?" Gavin got on his knees and put his hands on my shoulders. His green eyes were inspecting my face for scars and injuries.

"Actually, the third thing wasn't really life or death." I needed to think of something fast.

"What happened?"

"I was chased by a dog. One of those Mightyena things. I found one in the wild," I lied.

Gavin backed off. "Mightyena can be dangerous, wild or not. You have three badges right? Just hurry up and get five. This world's crazy."

Now I could be honest with him again. "It's better than being with Mom and Dad, especially after the way they treated me."

Gavin adjusted his glasses. "Let's just go in. I'll explain while we eat. You can't stay mad at them."

"Watch me."

So we went into the cafeteria and got some hamburgers and fries. We sat in a corner, with a table to ourselves.

"Dad tripped out because I was almost taken," Gavin explained after putting ketchup on his fries. "My grades were slipping back when we used to live in here in Goldenrod. He was mad at me too, but that was because he's sort of a hypocrite."

I picked the onions off my burger. "Because he hates Pokémon."

"Right. So he pretty much goes with whatever the Champions say. He just doesn't want his family involved. Also, your Trainer ID is shown in the newspaper, along with if you're an Amber or not. So that tells everyone the family's business."

I took a bite out of my burger and sneered. "So Dad's worried about himself. I figured that out about two months ago."

"You left home early too. You know Dad, he needs time to pick his words. When you left though, you made him miss out on apologizing."

I started to stuff my food. "I don't need an apology. I don't want his."

"He thought you wanted to leave home."

"He made me want to leave home."

"You guys misunderstood each other."

I slowed my eating. I was about to choke. "I talked to him on the phone while I was in Azalea. Trust me, he doesn't give a damn about me."

"You two are acting like kids," Gavin finally admitted. "Seriously, no wonder Mom's all depressed. Dad thinks you've abandoned us and you think he's abandoned you."

A lump formed in my throat. At this point, I couldn't look at Gavin without feeling bad. Was Dad really confused about all of this?

"Mom figured she could make you stronger by not having you miss her so much. When I was back home, after you left, she cried at least once a day. She'd try and do it in secret, but her eyes were always puffy."

I had now realized that the only one who wasn't an idiot in my family was Gavin.

"And I'm not going to keep playing mediator either, but I called Mom and Dad last night. I told them that you were going to Ecruteak. They gave me the money to buy you some fall and winter clothes. I put it in your Box's item partition so you can buy whatever you want with it."

So now I had more money. Awesome.

"Could you take me to the Goldenrod Mall?" I asked. I wanted this conversation to be over and I was getting too giddy about the money I had.

Gavin seemed to be at a loss for words. His glasses drooped and he looked at me above their frames. "Sure, but you better talk to Mom and Dad. At this point, you're worse than them."

Here I was with Gavin and the last thing I wanted to do was talk about my parents. I might have been taking Rob's advice way too seriously. I honestly just wanted to get going, get my five badges. After that, I figured maybe we could all work something out. But I had a task, and I was well on my way toward finishing it. Besides, Johto was too crazy at the moment.

We finished eating. Immediately after, Gavin got a call on his fancy phone from Nina. He told her we'd be at the mall. She said she'd pick me up there.

Gavin drove me to the mall, while telling me about his job and how it had gotten easier since the Champions stopped being so demanding about his research on evolution stones. He talked about going on a vacation to Sinnoh. Then he asked me if I wanted to go.

"I can't go," I said.

"Why not?"

"I have to get eight badges."

"You can do whatever you want, whenever you want. You could get badges there too. All badges count."

Johto was already screwed up as it was. I didn't need to get involved in another region's problems. "After I'm done."

Gavin shrugged. We continued the small talk until we reached the mall, a skyscraper with neon signs hanging off of it. Since it was in the early afternoon, they were turned off, but I imagined it looking colorful and awesome at night.

Gavin parked in the lot and we had to navigate a couple of escalators to even enter the mall, but we made it in. The inside was glorious and bright. Being at the bottom floor meant I could look all the way up at the giant window on the ceiling. Stores lined the walls, and there were elevators at every corner.

"She said she'd be here," Gavin said. We stood at the center, close to a fountain made of four angelic Kingdra statues. Their backs were turned toward each other and water flowed from their narrow snouts.

Gavin dialed her up.

"Hey Nina, where are you? We're here but…. _What?_"

I looked up at Gavin. He jumped at something.

"Where at? That…sounds a bit too sketchy. …You're coming up? Hello? _Hello?"_

He took the phone from his ear and looked at it. Then he pressed a button and put it in his pocket. "She's coming from the mall's basement...because she's watching a bunch of trainers fight each other."

That sounded awesome, but Gavin's face fell. "You're not really going to go down there with her, are you? That sounds too dangerous. Goldenrod has too many trainers being kidnapped and sold on the Dark Market."

So I had been part of the Dark Market.

"You shouldn't go with her," Gavin sternly put. "She seemed like a very curious student, but if she spends her free time watching underground Pokémon battles, then she's not the person I thought she was. The mall security should do something."

Gavin was overreacting. "Gav, it's nothing. If she's watching them, then it's not a big deal at all. She's not crazy or anything. I'll be ok. She's really nice. She took care of me and I like her."

He ignored me again, which was good since I had to think about what I just said. "There she is."

Nina came out of an elevator. A red bandana covered her hair and she wore an Indigo Plateau varsity jacket.

"Hey guys!" she said. When she opened her mouth, I saw a black pearl on her tongue. "There's some crazy fights down below. Rob's kicking ass!"

That was enough to make me run over to her side, catching a whiff of the cheap perfume she was wearing. It was the kind you smell when you go by those edgy teenager clothing stores, where you smell them all the way from the girl's section. Hers was generic.

"Who's Rob?" Gavin asked.

"He's the trainer that I've been hanging with this whole time," I explained, disappointed. "I told you about him. The guy that _saved my life?_"

"He saved your life? How? From what?" He asked.

I swore I told him the story. "From a Skarmory that attacked me. He had his Charizard kill it, cook it, and we ate it. I really want to see him fight, so can we just go?"

Nina laughed at my response. Gavin frowned, "That's fast. Well, if he's ok with you and he did all that, then I suppose it's okay."

I ran over to Gavin and gave him a hug. He patted my back. "Just make sure you check your Item storage partition in your Box. Get that money. I also left you one of my spare evolution stones."

"It was nice meeting you Professor Willow," Nina said. She nodded her head politely. "I hope to work with you in the future once I get out of school. Your work inspires me."

Gavin gently shoved me over to her. "I hope to work with you too. Your research at the institute will get you far." He looked down at me. "Now go on, go watch the battles. I'll see you Ed, and please be safe."

I chuckled. "Yeah, thanks Gav. I'll see you again, along with Mom and Dad."

He gave me a thumbs up before Nina ran off to an elevator. I followed her, not regretting anything I said. Everything would be fixed between me and my family. I just had five more badges.

We entered an empty elevator and Nina pressed the basement button. "How was your stay? Did Professor Willow show you anything cool?"

The ride down was surprisingly long enough for me to tell her what happened. When the doors opened, moist underground air came in. A large, expansive concrete hallway stood in front of us, lit with bright fluorescent lights. There were just as many people underground as there were in the first floor of the mall, with a bit more teenagers. Most of them were running from all directions down a single hallway, lined with yellow arrows painted on the walls and ground. A sign hung above the path that read: UNDERGROUND PASSAGE: E – G.

"There's this huge rest area between routes E and G," Nina said. "That's where trainers get together and fight. Come on!"

She ran down the route and I followed. I couldn't help but check out her figure. She was showing off her curves with her tight jeans. Her coat was too big for her, but underneath she wore a tight white long-sleeved shirt. She was wearing black boots as well, which were far more attractive than her red sneakers.

We reached an enormous circular room filled with people of all ages shouting from the edges. Some were standing on other's shoulders, rooting or taunting the people in the wide, cleared out circle.

There was Rob, scowling and staring down the three guys that surrounded him. He had a Poké Ball in both hands.

Then I noticed that Riley was the guy in front of Rob. My heart skipped in confusion and surprise. The bastard was here. _'What do I do?' _my mind asked me. I put a hand to my forehead to stop myself from stressing out.

"You pussies make me sick in all honesty," Rob spat. The room fell silent. His voice lacked its playfulness. He reminded me of those mob men in those crime movies. "Gangin' up on me, threatenin' me…who the hell do you think I am?"

Riley spoke. "An overzealous trainer. You think you're a hero by wanting to win back trainers, but you really shouldn't interfere with the Market. It may prove to be quite grave for you. Possibly fatal."

His voice had a slithery hint to it. He wasn't the same person I trained with.

Rob sneered. "Well how about this. I take all three of you guys on and if I lose, you can take me and my Pokémon. If I win, one of you three can leave the Market entirely and the other two can report back to your boss and tell them the news and of me. Tell'em Robert Cypress plans on getting rid of the Dark Market completely."

Riley scratched his head. "I don't think you'll stand a chance against us, but that's an awfully nice proposition you offer. If I were another person who actually didn't enjoy my job, I probably would consider it. But!"

He snatched a Poké Ball from his pocket and slammed it to ground, letting loose his Swampert. On all fours, it crawled over to Rob and swept a massive arm across the ground. Rob jumped over it. The Swampert snarled, water dripping from its wide, frowning mouth.

Rob dropped the Poké Ball in his right hand, letting his Umbreon loose. She bore her teeth at the Swampert.

"Sick'im," Rob said, and Umbreon immediately dashed to Riley. Riley let out his Pidgeotto. His two cohorts threw out Pokémon as well, a mangy Mightyena and a skinny, tall Fearow.

Rob dropped his second Poké Ball and let loose what I thought was a tall, muscular yellow man at first. Black stripes ran horizontally down its eyes, arms, and legs, with a vertical stripe going down its stomach. Two long, black appendages gyrated from its shoulders.

The Pokémon stretched, and then roared. Electricity violently flickered from its appendages.

The Mightyena ran up to the Pokémon, but was sent flying and burnt by a slap from its opponent. It flew right into the crowd.

"Now!" shouted the guy who owned the Fearow. The slender brown bird jumped into the air and dived toward Rob.

Umbreon did an about face and pursued the bird. Its eyes glowed red.

Rob simply stepped out of the way of the Fearow, who fell to the ground, petrified with its beak wide open.

"Never turn your back on a Dark Type," Rob taunted. The Fearow's trainer returned it and ran away, stumbling through the crowd. The trainer with the Mightyena held out another Poké Ball, but reconsidered. He hauled too, returning his dog. Both ran past me and Nina. Riley was left alone.

Rob crossed his arms. His Umbreon and huge yellow Pokémon stood at his side, staring down Riley. "I didn't figure I'd be winning your freedom." He shrugged. "It's all cool though."

Riley's demeanor switched back and forth. One moment it looked like he was going to taunt back, but the next like he was about to join his feeling partners. His Swampert bared its small, sharp teeth at Rob.

"The business is booming. I wouldn't leave it anyway!" He spat. "After Zero's dead, I'll be fucking rich!" He returned his Swampert and ran. Riley went right past me.

When he was clear of the crowd, he looked over his shoulder straight at me. He recognized me. His light brown eyes locked onto mine and I either wanted to run away or run after him. When he turned the corner out of my vision, my pulse returned to normal.

"You ok, Ed? You look like you saw a Gengar," Nina said. "Screw him. He's nothin'."

The crowd cheered Rob, and he returned both his Pokémon and trotted over to us. Nina lit up, but he went right past her. "Ed! Nice. You ready to get out the city?"

So much for chilling with him. "I guess?" With my backpack ready, leaving now was as good a time as any.

"You're leaving already?" Nina said, confused for more reasons than one. It seemed she made herself look sexy for him.

"Hell yeah I'm leaving!" he said. His voice returned to normal, but he didn't face her. "We both got important stuff to do right?"

The crowd began to dissipate. The three of us reminded me of those movies where everyone else was moving but the main characters were standing around making a scene no one knew about.

Nina looked like she could've cursed him out. Her brows furrowed, and this was when I noticed she trimmed them. "You're leaving? What the hell's the rush?"

"Come on Ed," Rob said. He stomped forward. I jogged to his side. Nina ran up and grabbed his shoulder. Rob snapped around. He gritted his teeth and held his hand to his face as if he was going to say something. Then he took a deep breath.

"Nina, later ok?"

"The fuck is your problem?"

"Everything. You know what you gotta do and I know what I gotta do, so let's do what we gotta do, ok? I'll see you."

Rob stomped off again. Nina stood in place.

"That's it? The hell happened to you?"

People were beginning to stop now to see the commotion. Rob saw this and sighed. He turned back around again. "We need space. We're going to get it too. We gotta think for both of our sakes. We talked about this."

It was obvious that Nina wanted a kiss. How did I know that?

Without any other word, Rob broke into a run down another route. I followed unquestioningly. Rob had issues for once. The two words, Rob and issue, didn't go well in my head.

Then I started to question. My lungs were shot. "Rob! Why are we running?"

Rob halted, a bit out of breath. He put his hands to his sides. I had to lean against the wall.

"Girls are so damn confusing Ed, oh my fuckin' god," he said, looking up at the ceiling. "I take that back, I'm confusing. I don't understand myself."

He wiped his nose, breathing hard. He looked down the road toward the end of the route. The route opened up to the outside, where the sky was as bright as ever.

"We gotta get to Ecruteak, and I really don't need my head screwin' with me," Rob said. "We'll hoof it for your sake so you can get ready for the gym leader. It'll take a few days and I'll show you a few things." He looked at me and forced a grin. "Ghost Pokémon are nothin'. It's all about your mindset."

I blinked. "You ok man? You just switching subjects like that is kinda weird."

Rob laughed. "Of course not."

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	21. Chapter XXI: An Awkward Reunion

Chapter XXI: An Awkward Reunion

_[If I were Murr, I would most likely do the same thing. I believe he is justified in his opinions and actions regardless of what effect they may have on you.]_

"_You're only saying that because you aren't affected."_

_[I highly doubt I would change my mind about it all. If I were a human, I would be concerned but I would realize what's bringing about incoming demise was brought about by the vanity of humanity.]_

"_Not every human is a Champion. Not every Champion can't argue his or her orders."_

_[Humans are supposed to have more developed 'sense' than most Pokémon. That should have been enough to realize that the consequences must be reaped, that if anyone with __such access to power would utilize it. The irony is that humans cannot handle being controlled while they control Pokémon.]__  
__  
-Mewtwo (pt 2__/6)_

_~*~*_

For once, Rob wasn't all enthusiastic. He kept his head down, almost hiding behind Charizard who stood between us keeping us warm as we walked through the night along the highway. He barely held a conversation since we left Goldenrod yesterday, and I found it odd that I was more optimistic than him for once.

I was about to get my fourth badge. Once I got it, I'd be halfway done. How many trainers honestly had four badges who didn't choose to be trainers? I was kicking ass and still breathing after all that mess with Riley.

Riley and I did see each other before Rob made him run away with those two guys. What was going through his head when he saw me? He lied to me and pretty much had me set to be killed, so what goes through the mind of people like him?

My hype started to dissipate and become resentment toward Riley. He had no business doing me like that. How many other trainers had he tricked? Did he hang out around the library scoping out victims? My skin shivered from disgust and a sharp breeze.

The three of us were following a path fenced away from the highway. Teens and college students in passing cars would honk at us sometimes because they'd see Charizard. Some girls even parked close to the fence and talked to us (meaning mostly Rob). I expected Rob to use his charm to get us a ride, but he was so out of it that he gave them the cold shoulder, telling them to leave us alone. The girls laughed at him, called both of us filthy trainers, and drove off. Ever since then, Rob was mute.

The whole walk to Ecruteak was getting too awkward for me. My optimism was gone and now I was thinking about the most frustrating issue: What happened with June?

Talking about Pokemon may cheer Rob up, I figured. "Rob, can I ask you something?"

"'Bout what?" he exhaled. He didn't lift his view from the pavement.

With that kind of reaction, I almost kept my mouth shut. "June won't listen to me anymore. She attacked my brother when he asked her to light his pipe. What can I do about it?"

Rob's eyes got wide and he looked at me. "Damn, really? Is he ok?"

"Yeah, he said he was used to things like that. He also said I need to have her lose in a battle. He said the problem was that she's too cocky because she wins all the time basically."

He chuckled slightly. "He's right, but you don't want to go into a fight thinking you're going to lose. You gotta be serious, but pretty much just lose like normal. Try to win but lose. You know, like a losing battle? Get it?"

I shook my head. "If it was like that, then I should probably fight you so I can lose."

Rob scratched his head. "Ah, not like that…more like…" He put his fingers on his chin. I seemed to have pulled him out of his funk for a bit. "More like fight someone you think you can beat, but you don't end up beating him because he's good. That way, you and your Pokemon will put in enough effort and both will be all disappointed when you lose. Then your Pokemon will be willing to do whatever to win again."

I nodded in approval. "Has this happened to you?"

Rob smiled. "Yeah, twice. It happens normally with larger Pokemon. The mother of the Onix I used in the battle tent about last week? Yeah, she'd ignore me completely but I kept using her until she figured me and her make a great pair."

Comprehending what he said took a minute. "You have two Onix..es? How do you call a bunch of them anyway?"

"Just Onix, and yeah. They grow fast though. The one you saw is fully grown, but it's still not mature I think. I've had it a little bit over a year now. Its mother was one of the first few Pokémon I caught."

With that, Rob perked up. He explained that the mother Onix had evolved and he only takes it out of his Box for whenever he feels like scaring the hell out of someone. He pulled out his PokéDex and showed me the description of a Steelix. I remembered Dad talking about how he found some Steelix skin at the bottom of an empty well when he was a kid. He said that his parents had it turned into a fence.

"She's huge. About as big as my Gyarados," Rob said.

I gave him a blank stare, speechless.

He sneered. "Yeah, I'm actually gonna be a dick about it and brag. Yeah, I have a Gyarados. A male Ocean Blue. Caught him in the Southern waters of Kanto while I was on this special cruise for Trainers."

I begged him to tell me the story and he did. He won a ticket to ride a cruise ship to Cinnabar Island where he said he could learn how to make Charizard stronger. On the ride, an Ocean Blue attacked the ship. The trainers were more than enough to take it down, but there was a huge race to see who could catch it and have it stay in a Poké Ball first. The Ocean Blue kept busting out, but Rob's managed to work.

"I didn't want a Pokémon that was that feral and wild at first, so left it in my Box when I got to shore. Then I challenged the gym leader, Lorenzo. He completely owned me and asked me why I didn't use my Gyarados. So I got a rematch with him a few days later. All of our Pokémon were healed up, but I had Gyarados with me. So he ends up, again, completely wiping the floor with me and all I have is Gyarados left. I didn't let him out yet. I was down to one Pokémon and he had what . . . two or three I think."

"Damn. What'd you do?" Rob rarely talked about himself like this.

Rob cleared his throat. "Get this. Dude has this Infernape, right? Thing's so awesome; a monkey that lights its own cigarettes. But Lorenzo throws out his Infernape into the ring where Gyarados was squirming and twisting and roaring and stuff. Gyarados attacks Infernape. I've never seen anything so huge get its shit ruined so fast."

Rob howled with laughter and held his sides. "Oh God it was insane. Every time Gyarados got close, Infernape would jump on its head and punch or kick it. Then Gyarados decided to try and blow up everything with a Hyper Beam. He charged it up, but Infernape kicked him in the mouth and Gyarados lost all his teeth that day. It was like looking at a bloody firecracker, and I don't mean that in the Sinnoh context. You know, how they say stuff like 'bloody' and 'chap' and stuff."

So Rob continued to tell me about how he ended up helping Gyarados recover and trained him to finally beat Lorenzo. His Charizard led us down some offbeat path as we talked, and then we passed an old-timey elegant oval sign hanging from a post that read 'The Double Leek Inn' in black cursive letters.

"Where're we headed anyway?"

"The Double Leek Inn of course!" Rob answered with a bit too much energy. "I can get us a room for free cause I know the owners."

Hunting down birds and camping out was a pain at first, but Rob had gotten me into being a cheap bastard like him. Every time I saw some fast food place in the distance, I'd ignore it. Every time I saw a Pidgey, my mouth watered. Free was good.

Charizard eventually led us down some wide dirt driveway in front of a wide, one-story brick house with three smoking chimneys. Garden gnomes with winding Bellsprout growing on them stood in the front yard. Empty wooden rocking chairs rested on the porch and the wind chimes played their tune as a night breeze blew. An orange light from a fire inside glowed from the closed shutters in front of the windows. At the side of the house, a station wagon covered in mud and dust was parked next to a green family van.

Rob climbed up to the front door and knocked. I stood at the steps and looked around. Charizard had walked over to a bunch of trees and started snarling. The flame on his tail intensified.

I ran up behind Rob. "Hey…Charizard sees something I think."

Rob didn't turn around. "I figured. We're being followed. Just stay in the house. We'll talk when we get our beds."

The door cracked opened, locked in place by a chain. Of all people, Jim's face peeked through. His green hair was now cornrowed. He looked at us sternly and was about to ask us who we were, but he recognized us immediately.

He unlatched the door "Ed! Rob! Woah! I never thought I'd see you guys again so soon! Come on in!"

Rob returned Charizard to his Poké Ball and we stepped inside. The cozy warmth from the stone fireplace made me realize how much I wanted to lay in a snug bed and sleep. Five small kids were gathered in front of it cooking hot dogs on forks. An old bald man with a large black sweater and lumberjack boots was in a rocking chair smoking a pipe. His beady eyes watched us as we greeted Jim.

"Rob-boy, you know Jim? You two know each other?" he said. He took a puff and eyed all of us. The kids stared at us for a little while but went back to cooking.

"Yes sir, I do," Rob answered. "We met back in Azaela Town, right after the last time I came by." He went up to the man and shook his hand. The old man's forearm was thick and hairy.

"And what about the red-head there? You." He beckoned me. "Come here. Let me see you."

The old man wanted me to get closer to him and Rob wasn't doing a thing about it, so I went over to him. He got close to my face and started examining my neck, stretching my arms out, and checking my ears.

He pulled out a small flashlight from his khakis. "Open your mouth so I can check your teeth and throat."

I pushed his arms off of me. "Rob? What the hell man?"

The old man's pipe dotted me across my forehead. "No foul talk."

"Oh yeah, introductions. Dr, Leek, this is Ed. Ed, Dr. Tim Leek. I don't even know what kind of _ologist _he is, but I wouldn't doubt he's all of them."

I rubbed where he hit me. "Uh, hi. And sorry."

"Just be sure to be respectful to everyone in the house," Dr. Leek said. He pulled my hair sharply. "Healthy hair. Very red. Typical for you to have freckles. Minor acne, which is good. Trainers tend to be the most fit. You are healthy but you need sleep. You have bags under your eyes. Talk to Bernice. You can get a bed and clothes from her."

Rob grew bright. "Mrs. B? Mrs. B! Where's she? Come on Ed, this lady's like a mom to me."

The kids cooking the hotdogs watched us as we left, following Rob. None of them looked older than six or seven years old. They were very thin and bony, wearing clothes that were too big with tears and loose strings hanging off. All five looked radically different from each other skin tone to hair and height, so I figured they were orphans.

"So Ed, you get any new badges? New Pokémon? What's up?" Jim asked. He was wearing a suiting green sweater. I felt out of place wearing my vest and short sleeves.

"Got one, but no new Pokémon. I got the Plain badge from Goldenrod," I answered. "Now June won't listen to me anymore. Rob says she thinks she's too good for me and my other Pokémon."

Jim shook his head and rubbed his nose. "Yeah, that sucks man. That happens to a lot of captured Pokémon when they're teenagers, or whatever you call it for them when they're at the 'age of knowledge' equivalent to humans. Just angst. I'm sure you get that way too. I know I do."

He laughed at his joke but I didn't get it at the time. Rob snickered. "I gotta admit, I can't figure out whether or not I wanna call myself an adult or not. I mean I'm 17 goin' on to 18 but I…" he looked over his shoulder briefly, and then whispered. "But I've fucked nine girls already, and I've done and seen a lot compared to most people. So really, what am I?"

Jim rubbed his chin, "Well I'm 17 too and I already have two kids. I'm called Mr. Linus. Chloe is called Mrs. Linus. We were pretty well off and I never really did think about if we were unprepared for parenthood. We always come through."

With all this talk, I considered myself a kid and left it at that. Jim had said something that made me worry. "'Were'? What happened? Why aren't you back at the Azalea Gym?"

We had been following Rob down a hall and stopped in front of a kitchen. An old lady as tall as me was cutting some tomatoes on a cutting board. She wore a plain pink nightgown with pink slippers and her white hair was tied in a bun. She reminded me of the pictures Mom would show me of my late grandma.

Next to her was a young girl with cinnamon-colored hair that came down over shoulders. She was putting ham on two slices of bread and covered them with mayonnaise and mustard. The girl wore a baggy bright yellow sweater with grey sweatpants that were too big for her.

When I started to notice her face, I felt an odd familiarity. Only the side of her face was toward me, and she didn't seem to notice us, but I could still see the color of her eyes. Brown, but extremely and puffy on the sides. Her face was flushed and she sniffled. She had a small nose with a round face. Her mouth was slender, but I imagined it hid a great smile.

"Mrs. B!" Rob shouted. He ran inside and me and Jim stepped in just beyond the doorway.

Mrs. B's eyes were as blue and large as Dr. Leek's. Her wide smile showed off her pearly white dentures. "Rob! Dah-ling, it's good to see you!"

The two embraced and the girl took some tomatoes from Mrs. B's pile and put them on her sandwich. She watched Rob and Mrs. B embrace with a small smile people will have when they're just trying to be friendly even though they have nothing to do with what's going on around them. I stared at her face, trying to place it to the right person.

She was about my age, a bit older.

She used to be taller than me, but now we were even.

She was a trainer.

My heart skipped a beat. She was Alice without the blonde hair and blue eyes. Who was this girl? I thought.

Rob and Mrs. B reminisced over many things while we just stood around, and then they finally noticed us. The girl who looked like Alice popped the final piece of sandwich into her mouth. Her eyes were already clearing up.

Rob brought me over to Mrs. B. "Mrs. B, this is Ed. You think we can get some beds?"

She put her wrinkly hands on my shoulders. "Of course! Any friend of Rob is a friend of mine! You two can have room 3."

She asked me regular questions like where I was from and how old I was. The more I talked, the more the girl would look at me. I'd keep my eyes away from hers in case I was being weird, but I came up with an idea.

"So yeah," I said, "after coming from New Bark Town, I went to Cherrygrove and got some supplies."

I kept her in my peripheral vision. "That's where I met my first trainer, well, as a trainer. Her name was Alice I think."

She froze up and her eyes grew wide, as if from fear. She looked over at Mrs. B. Mrs. B's own eyes darted across the floor. Rob crossed his arms and furrowed his brow. Jim was just dumbfounded at everyone's reaction.

I was going to tell the girl she looked just like Alice, but something kept me shut up.

"Well, Ed," Mrs. B said in a surprisingly cheery voice, "You sound like you have quite the story to tell the rest of us over tomorrow night's dinner. But now it's getting late and everyone has to follow the Inn's curfew!"

She clapped her hands. "Alright everyone!" she shouted. "Bedtime!"

The girl hastily walked out of the kitchen. Jim had to hop out of her way or she would've knocked him over.

"Yeah Ed," Rob said, pinching his chin. "We gotta talk about girls again."

---

Rob and I got in our nightwear, which was just our underwear and jumped into the twin beds. Jim was sitting on the floor between us, talking about his current situation. His son, Jonas, was in a deep sleep, lightly snoring.

"Alfred went into the well and killed Dialgarice and the rest of the pack, but he ends up accusing me for hiding all the Slowpoke children."

For the second time that night, my heart stopped and flushed me with guilt. On top of that, Rob shot a glare at me.

"He was upset about the Slowpoke missing?" Rob asked.

"God yeah. The guy just started fussing and fussing about how 'we people' don't appreciate what Champions do for everyone and how me and Chloe only wanted to screw up his reputation. So me and Chloe tell him to fuck off, and he's all bitchy this time. Then he says that we've 'shown an example of inadequacy as Gym Leaders' and he offers us a choice to decide which one of us will lose our Gym Leader license or both of us would be arrested."

Rob shot up. "The fuck?" I had to look away from both of them, so I stared at the ceiling. My mind was calling me an idiot.

"Yeah, so me and Chloe argue with him and he says that this was what was going to happen even if the Slowpoke were still in the well. He said the fact we didn't clean it out meant we'd have to suffer the consequences. So he gave us a day to decide on what to do. Me and Chloe talked about it, then we talked about how we got no money since Alfred took over the Gym for so long, and then I decided that I'd give up my license."

"So why the hell are you here?" Rob asked. "You gotta take care of your family!"

Jonas squirmed and squealed at Rob's outburst. Jim gently rocked him. "Well, I decided I could do better for my family. I figured I could train up my Pokémon and see if I could place in the Elite Four in a League Championship. Fourth place gets half a million dollars. I get that, me, Chloe, Jonas, and Liz won't have to worry about Champion bullshit anymore."

I wanted to say something, but the guilt was overwhelming.

"Nice man. You're going to compete in the one coming up?" Rob asked.

"Nah, but next year I will. My strongest team is just the team I use for eighth badge gym leader battles. I'd get smoked by trainers in the Victory Road challenge. I'll get better though. This morning, I went to the old National Park on the other side of the woods and caught some bug Pokémon still lurking around in the tall grass."

Jonas was wide awake now, reaching out to the wooden floor to be put down to crawl. "Oh yeah, Alicia said she wanted to go by the National Park to see if she can find some bug Pokémon to train on and catch. If you two are thinking about going by there, then maybe you can cheer her up. I've been here for three days and everyday she looks like she's been crying."

Alicia was spelled too closely to Alice. Twin sisters? I thought. Where was Alice? It wasn't any of my business but something strange was up.

Jim got up and sat Jonas on his shoulder. "Well I'm out. Gotta get some sleep so I can head back to Goldenrod tomorrow so I can catch the Mach Train to Kanto."

"You're heading to Kanto too?" Rob asked. Rob was heading to Kanto?

"Yeah," Jim said. "I'm going to spend some time training in all three regions. Only for a few months each though. Why are you going to Kanto?"

"I live there," Rob said. "I wanna go back home for a good moment before I take on the upcoming League Championship. You know, train and stuff. But first I'm heading to Ecruteak to train in one of those two towers since they're filled with Ghost Pokémon. Then I'm going to head back to Kanto, go to Lavender Town, and train around the radio tower there. That place is definitely haunted since it used to be a tower where people cremated their Pokémon and left the ashes."

Jim nodded. "Sounds like a plan. I think it's crazy how we're talking about fighting ghosts when we should be afraid of the dead."

Rob shrugged. "Only with Pokémon."

Jim chuckled. "Yeah. Well I'm out. If I'm gone before you two wake up, it was good seeing you both again. Good luck with your training Rob and we might end up battling each other one day. You too Ed, I'm just a trainer now so you'll have to go serious on me. When you get five badges more badges, look for me because I feel like you'll get really good and I'll need a sparring partner."

I gave him thumbs up and he gave one back. He turned around and closed the door behind himself. He more or less spoke the truth about me encountering him again, but it would be a few years down the line.

Rob got on his elbow and looked over at me over the counter. "So now for you."

I laid on my back and continued watching the ceiling. "I swear I've seen Alicia before. She's that girl I told you about, but she changed her hair and eye color somehow. Unless she's a twin or something. They seriously look just alike."

"I see," Rob said. "Let me explain it so it'll make sense to you. Based on what you said today, what you're saying now, and her reaction, chances are it is really her."

I was taken aback at how easily he believed me. "So what's going on?"

"She probably got in some mess. Goldenrod has a huge underground market that kidnaps weaker trainers. She probably got caught in it and now she's running away from her captors, owners, or whatever."

What if Alice was that girl people were talking about in Azalea Town? Did she go through the same thing as me? Being treated like a tool by criminals? Did Riley get to her too?

"But then again, you did say you couldn't remember how she looked like," Rob commented, " so she could probably be someone different and just looks like what you think Alice looks like."

"No," I said sternly. "It's her. Seeing her face made me remember."

Rob smirked. "Well, tomorrow morning, I'll get you up so we can go with her to the National Park, alright? You can talk to her about it then, but you'll have to be quiet about it because I think her hunters are watching her. We gotta keep her safe. I don't think Jim knew that much."

"So we should sleep now then?" I asked.

"Yep," Rob replied. He turned off the lamp and curled over in his bed. I kept looking at the ceiling. A new question irked me.

"You think she's going to Ecruteak to join Team Zero?" I asked.

"Sure do. That's one thing I'm sure of. My guess is that she got rescued and recruited in Goldenrod and now she's heading north. It's obvious we're trainers by just looking at us. She didn't say a thing. And her reaction to what you said to Mrs. B was way too weird. Besides, the inn is a checkpoint for Zero recruits coming from the south."

His assumption was my guess as well. I turned over to my side away from him. "When we do get to Ecruteak, will we have to fight Team Zero members? I don't think I can take on swarms of Pokémon."

Rob chuckled. "Nah, they'd think twice about messing with us."

I turned over again and looked at him through the darkness. "Why?"

"Well from what you told me about what happened to you in Goldenrod, they like you enough to save you. As for me, there's only a few of them that would lay a hand on me, but they like me too. Probably too much."

"What kind of answer is that?"

"What kind of answer are you looking for?"

"Why do they like me?"

"Because you're with me?"

"Then why don't they mess with you?"

"Did they mess with you?"

Rob's question stopped me. I chose the wrong words. I was forced to say they didn't.

"Don't worry. The members of Team Zero aren't stupid. Neither of them will ever fuck with us. I can promise you that. Now go to sleep, we gotta be up early cause Mrs. B makes breakfast at the crack of dawn."

I could see Rob's outline in the dark take his sheets and pull them over his shoulder. I did the same thing and fell into slumber like a Geodude in a lake. Tomorrow, Rob and I would finish our conversation, when I'd have more of an understanding on what was going on.

~*~*~*

_Sorry for the long LONG wait. I've been busy with schoolwork and on top of that, I had to figure out some things about the story, like how and where I want to go with it. I had a plan at first but I sort of tweaked it here and there. I mean, I'm still tweaking it. _

_Chapter 22 should be finished up pretty soon. I want to hurry up and get Part 1 of the story done while work has toned down. If I do go on another hiatus, I will make an update about it, I promise!_

**_With that out of the way though, I would like to say thanks to all of the readers who are enjoying the story. Like I said earlier I think, as long as there are readers, I will keep writing. You guys give me purpose._**


	22. Chapter XXII: Hunted

_Author's Note__ - Sorry for the long wait!!! March was busy for me! I wanted to have this chapter done before April but I failed :(. Well here's Chapter 22! Chapter 23 shouldn't take as long to write._

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Chapter XXII: Hunted

_[…The psychological and sociological trends I'm noticing are astounding. The fear from witnessing the Pokémon 0 lingers to this day. Like a keyhole hidden by the holders of the secret. Now that such a dusty, worn lock is open, the fear is able to run rampant. The humans are being corralled. They are waiting for their overlord to tell them what to do. Perhaps he should just return them all into a Poké Ball?]_

_"I don't have to sit here and listen to this. You can fuck off."_

_[Human, I am curious as to what you will do. You know his motive. It is justified. Will you stop him? He doesn't even consider you an enemy so far.]_

_"I have to. It's my job."_

_[Then let me tell you this. You cannot stop him alone. This is a battle of words. Not with fists, guns, or other abilities. However, you do know what I think of the situation. His logic is sound and nearly irrefutable. The world is in chaos and he has come up with the best solution to save it. You would step up to stop him from righting wrongs done for centuries?]_

_"I have to. It's my job. I can't sit by and do nothing._ _"_

_-_

_-_

_-  
_

~*~*

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That morning, Rob and I sat around in the lounge after eating Mrs. B's huge early pancake breakfast. She was in the kitchen cleaning up and figuring out what to make for dinner. Rob and I chilled out while I talked to him about throwing Pokéballs, all over a cup of coffee. We were ready to go, but 'Alicia' wasn't up yet.

"You know what? I've never even considered watching baseball to help me throw better," He said. He took a small sip.

"It does," I said. "If you're in the outfield and you gotta throw a ball to stop a batter running to first, you gotta know how to throw far. You gotta use your whole body too, not just your arm. If you can throw a ball right behind your opponent's Pokémon and your own Pokémon comes out fast enough, you have an advantage."

Rob nodded and pointed at his forehead. "That's good thinking. Now how about fighting Ghost types? How are you going to hurt something that can't be hit easily?"

"Someone told me nonphysical attacks work, like blowing fire or electricity. I got that easy." I took a chug of coffee. Mine had cooled off.

Rob finished up his. "Yeah, but this is your fourth gym battle. The leader's going to be using Pokémon that know a thing or two about dodging. And since they're ghosts, that's pretty much all they do."

That made sense. "So how would you fight Ghost Pokémon?"

Rob reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a Pokéball. He held it out in front of me. "Umbreon. She cuts through Ghosts like butter. She's actually killed…or whatever happens…Ghost types before."

"How?" I asked.

Rob dropped the ball and it cracked open, releasing Umbreon through the burst of white light. She was curled up asleep. Her thick black tail lazily flopped over her face.

"She's a Dark type Pokémon," Rob said. "A pure one. She uses darkness."

Umbreon's display of power back in Goldenrod's Battle Tent told me that 'darkness' wasn't just absence of light. I knew it was more than that but I had never taken a Pokémon physiology class back then. I always figured the darkness Pokémon used was some sort of weird, ultra-dimensional ability that caused all the bad luck and misfortune talked about in folktales. Dark type Pokémon were always considered to be bad omens. My second grade teacher demanded that some girl get immediately baptized because she was secretly raising a Murkrow chick. Her parents ended up letting her raise it until it could fly.

"Ghost types are weak against darkness," Rob explained. "You know how Ghost types actually come from dead Pokémon? Well, darkness comes from something entirely different, like . . . how did he put it?"

Rob scratched his head and looked up at the ceiling. I heard footsteps behind me. Rob's eyes lowered and looked past my shoulder and grinned. "Good morning! Mrs. B told us you were headed our way. Me and my buddy here want to see some bug Pokémon too."

I turned around in my chair and saw Alicia, wearing a blue button down coat with a light blue scarf around her neck. She was appropriately dressed for the fall weather, unlike me and Rob. Rob didn't seem to mind freezing though.

'Alicia' and I stared at each other awkwardly. Her now brown eyes went from me, to the ground, then to Rob, and back again. She may have changed her hair and eyes, but she couldn't change her face. I started to notice how full and finely shaped her lips were.

Rob cleared his throat. "Well Miss Alicia, what do you say? And don't mind Ed here, he sees a cute girl like you and he goes back being shy. I don't know why since every girl he meets ends up asking me for his number." Rob rolled his eyes.

He thankfully killed the moment. She laughed and folded her arms. "Well I never asked for your number Ed, and I only saw you for one day."

I got out of my chair with a wide smile and went up to her, choosing my words carefully. "I'm glad to see you again Alicia."

She shook my hand. "You can use Alice. You know me. You and your friend too. Just call me Alicia around strangers."

As weird as it was thinking this about a person you've only met once, I was glad that I found her. And then I felt even better when I was looking at her face-to-face. She looked nothing like the horrific image Dialgarice triggered in my head.

Rob came up beside us and knelt, putting his arms around both of us. "Reunions with other trainers are always awesome. Imagine how much the both of you have grown."

Alice smirked. "Yeah Ed, how many challenges have you backed out from?"

My joy vanished and things were awkward again. I looked at the inactive fireplace next to her. "Oh yeah, sorry about that. I wasn't really into being a trainer then."

"Why are you apologizing for?" she asked. "I was being an asshole then. And I already apologized for that. I was just joking anyways."

"Yeah Ed, it was a joke," Rob mocked. I shoved his arm off. He laughed as got up and left the room.

She smiled. "So how'd you end up all the way here from Cherrygrove? You're going to Ecruteak too?"

I nodded. "Yep. I'm going to get my fourth badge."

Alice lit up. Her eyes got so large I thought I could see the lines of her colored contacts. "You already have three? Can I see?"

Rob came back with both of our backpacks. He dropped mine next to me and I pulled out my crimson cloth with my three badges. I unwrapped it and let it hang in front of her. She gasped and took the cloth from me.

"Wow! I only have two! What kind of Pokémon do you have now? How's June?"

I scratched my head. "She evolved a bit too early and she's a bit cocky now, but she's doing really fine. I have two other Pokémon with me too. A Luxio named Shox and a Scyther named Nick."

Alice continued to goggle at my badges. "You've gotten better! We really have to duel soon."

I let the pride get to me a little. "Yeah, just don't back out. What Pokémon do you have?"

She gave me back my cloth. "Shredder's growing hair and he looks funny. I took him to a Pokémon Center and they said he's just growing up. He should evolve in a few months."

Shredder was her Squirtle who dominated some poor kid's Eevee. She had pestered him as she had tried to pester me back in that inn.

"I ended up catching a Pikachu outside of Cherrygrove. I named him Shocker. And then I found a Sneasel den outside of Violet City, I caught one and named her Slasher. And then I got lucky. I wanted to check out the Ruins of Alph because I had to do a project on them when I was in fourth grade. The professors there used Rhydon and Rhyperior to dig, so one of them gave me a five month old Rhyhorn. I'm thinking about naming him Stomper but I'm not sure."

Rob rolled his eyes from behind her. "Well Alice, I'm sure you'll tell us all about it on the way to the Park."

He put on his backpack. "Alright, you two ready?" He leaned to the side to look at the clock in the kitchen. "It's about to be eight. There should still be a ton of Bug Pokémon prowling about so you don't have to worry about that."

"I might not catch anything," Alice said, "I could just fight a few. Get my Pokémon tough. I've had enough of Bug Pokémon. I wanna see some ghosts!"

"Same here," I said, "but I think my other Pokémon need to run around a bit. There's Scyther in the park still, right Rob? I want to take on more of them."

Rob opened the front door, letting the morning sunshine in. "There's some I think, but there are other kinds too. We might run into a Heracross or two, or some Yanma which is always cool."

Alice went ahead of us and stood on the porch. She took a deep breath. "You know they closed the Park because of all the dangerous bug Pokémon in it? Didn't they try to poison everything? There has to be some badass Pokémon in there if trainers still get in. All the weak Pokémon probably died and the strong ones are still there today. That's why they have hunters with guns and stuff going in there too."

Her words gave me something new to take into consideration, but the more I thought about it, regret started to pull at me. The three of us went on our way through a path in the woods in front of the Double Leek Inn. The rain from last night and the bright morning sun made the dirt soft to walk on. Rob stopped and knelt down when we reached a clearing. He grabbed a handful of soil and rubbed it between his fingers. Then he looked around at the empty space around us.

"You tracking someone?" Alice asked. She got beside him.

Rob shook his head. "Nah, but I do want to show you two something cool...or well I did."

He turned away from her and cursed under his breath. She didn't notice. "Show us what?"

"Later. The ground's still wet." He got up. "Come on, we're almost there."

Again he took the lead. Alice looked at me and shrugged. We continued following Rob, not talking as much anymore. Then I noticed Rob constantly watching the trees and shrubbery around him, making me remember that his Charizard sensed someone watching Rob and me approach the gym. Was Rob looking out for them?

I glanced at Alice next to me. Her hair used to be blonde and her eyes were blue. We hadn't talked about why the change in color and that disturbed me. She even seemed too casual about it, yet last night, she was crying in the kitchen with Mrs. B. What if someone was looking for her? Could they have been the ones Charizard smelled?

I gripped the straps of my backpack and stopped walking. "I'm wondering if this is a good idea."

Rob and Alice stared at me and my insecurity. Rob didn't make much of a face, telling me he understood my issue. Alice didn't.

"How long were you thinking we'd stay?" she asked. "I just want to see some bug Pokémon and leave."

I opened my mouth, about to ask if she was sure she figured she was safe, but I saw Rob shake his head from behind her. Then I remembered the whole reason we were out here: to protect her.

The subject needed to be changed quickly. "You're not afraid of bugs?" I asked.

She smirked. "Not really. Bugs don't really mess with people. And I also raised some Caterpie to Butterfree when I was little. Pokémon don't get uglier than a Butterfree coming out of its shell, but then they become very pretty after a few days."

With that, the three of us talked about experiences with Pokémon before we became trainers. I told them about how my brother and I used to pick Pineco from trees until one day; we climbed a tree and found a Forretress in it. It spat briar spikes out on the ground below us. We both had to scream for help until some hiker came by and brushed the spikes away and got us down. Rob talked about how his mom was asleep for four days straight. He believed it had something to do with the legend of Darkrai. I didn't believe it, but Alice had something to say about it.

"Rob, what's your religion?" she asked up at him. Her tone was innocent enough, but if there was going to be a conversation, I had no idea where it would lead.

Rob shrugged. "I don't have one. Do you?"

Alice looked down and her voice fell. She fumbled with her fingers. "I guess. Since you mentioned all that stuff about your mom and Darkrai, I was thinking I could talk to you about something on my mind."

He fell back to walk alongside her, placing a hand on her narrow shoulder. "How about later? When we reach Ecruteak, you'll definitely meet some people that can help you out with whatever's on your mind. But if you really do wanna talk, then we can talk after we're done here, cause look."

He pointed out another clearing in front of us. A two story building stood in front of us with boarded windows. An archway blocked with a chain fence stood at the center, going through the building. Strands of grass and Bellsprout grew from cracks in the pavement of what probably used to be a parking lot.

Alice chuckled nervously. "The Park sure does look sucky. Anything could be in it."

"Having second thoughts?" I asked, wishing she did.

Her smile became wider and more confident. "Nope. If this place needs hunters, then this is where I'm going to get my next Pokémon."

She ran on ahead to the sealed off entrance. Rob and I watched her go.

"She sure is anxious," I said.

"Yeah she is. She has the right idea though but it's going a bit too far," Rob replied. In my surprise, he ran off behind her. I followed.

The three of us crossed the parking lot and reached the building. Upon closer inspection, we saw that the chain fence was really a gate that slid into the building. Alice pushed it open with ease. At the side was a series of chains with a number of open padlocks.

"Somebody's inside," Rob said.

"Hunters?" I asked.

Alice stepped through. "Maybe. Or trainers like us. C'mon."

Rob grabbed her arm. "Hold it, little lady. We don't know what we'll run into in there."

Her face lit up redder than the top part of a Voltorb. Rob let go as if he had a live grenade in his hand. Alice shot her face away from him. Rob just scratched his head.

"Just come back out," he said. "I wanna show you something."

She did and stood next to me, still flushed. Alice liked Rob already? I thought. I started trying to figure out whether to think 'Damn! That was fast!' or 'Damn, sucks for me.' Her reaction threw my focus away, making me think about what ran through her head. I didn't notice Rob taking out a Poké Ball until he hurled it out in the middle of the parking lot. The light that blasted out grew large enough that all three of us had to shield our eyes.

When I removed my arms, I found myself standing in front of what was a metal Onix, but somehow even bigger, curled up with its massive head poking out from between its coils. The head itself was as large as a small car, with some sort of metallic fixture on its head like a helmet. The Pokémon's lipless mouth bore its teeth as sand dripped like saliva from the tight gaps. Its eyes were simple black shadows among the cracks and creases in its skull. The rest of its body was a chain of glistening rocks that decreased from a boulder to the small drill-like appendage at the end of its tail. Some of the rocks had spikes coming out of the sides.

I took out my Pokédex. Rob had shown me the info on his PokeDex, but since mine was a newer model, I figured it would say more.  
_  
"Steelix," it said, "the Iron Snake Pokémon. Steelix lives even further underground than Onix. This Pokémon is known to dig towards the earth's core. There are records of this Pokémon reaching a depth of over six-tenths of a mile underground. Its body has been compressed deep under the ground. As a result, it is even harder than a diamond. It is also said that if an Onix lives for over 100 years, its composition changes to become diamond-like."_

"Yeah, she's a real hardcore one," Rob said with his fists at his hips.

Alice was stunned so much that she had to sit down. "Wow! Oh my…Wow!" She put her hands over her mouth and shrieked in amazement.

Seeing Steelix got rid of any doubt I had of entering the park. I now wanted a Pokémon that I could look at and say that I wouldn't mess with it, because there was no way I would try to piss off a giant metal snake.

"You see," Rob started, "Steelix here will make sure nothing fucks with us. And she's insanely territorial of me, so all I have to do is give the signal and she'll come busting out the ground like the Advent of Groudon."

Steelix seemed to understand Rob without him even issuing a command. She unwound herself, elongating her body over her side of the parking lot. Then she reared over and opened her massive jaws. When she took a mouthful of pavement and started chewing it, it was my turn to sit down. When she swallowed, I got on my knees and watched.

She took ate another bite of concrete, and then took a bite out of the soil underneath. Particles dripped from its mouth as it grazed. Then finally, she emitted a low screech and thrust her head into the hole she made. The ground around us vibrated violently enough for all of us to fall over and the building to rattle. We watched as all of the connected, revolving rocks submerged into the lot, and then the earthquake stopped.

"And now she's some feet underground cruising along," Rob said, getting up. He helped us both to our feet. "And here."

He deactivated Steelix's Poké Ball and handed it to me. "If you want her to come ruining shit, just prime it, point it to the ground, and hold it out around you for a bit, and then deactivate it."

I put it in my pocket. Alice didn't seem to mind. She was still gazing in awe at the hole in the ground.

"Rob, you have a Steelix!" She screamed. "How the hell did you get one?"

"You heard Ed's Dex," He answered casually. "It evolved from an Onix."

She glared at him. "Do you know how many trainers have a Steelix? Do you know which trainers can actually handle a Steelix?"

Rob stared at me, expecting me to give him an answer for her questions. We both looked back at her. "Not really," he answered. "I guess…people who can handle…dangerous Pokémon?"

"Champions!" She shouted. "Champions! Some Elite Four! Gym Leaders! Ace Trainers!"

At this point, she was completely enamored by Rob. "How many badges do you have exactly?"

Rob waved his hands out in front of him. "Wow Alice, chill. I have eight. I've been a trainer for a while now, okay?"

She shrieked again, face flushed. "Oh God. I had no idea you were an Ace. I've never meet one in person before. I mean I met some at a convention doing interviews but…but wow."

Rob gave a dumb smile. Then it went away and was replaced with laughter. "I just came up with a great joke Ed. I'll tell you later."

I found myself getting a bit annoyed by Alice's reaction. Jealousy? "Sure," I said flatly.

Rob sensed it. He responded with an annoyed tone of his own. "What the hell are we doing? Sitting out here talking about nothing, that's what. Come on, the morning's not gonna last."

With that, we got our act together and entered the Park through the gate. The archway led to a huge expanse of grass almost twice as tall as Rob. We were on a dirt path that was still clear enough for us to follow.

The idea of having such tall grass irritated me. I took out Nick's Pokeball and dropped it on the ground, releasing him. He stretched his scythes and yawned, and then he noticed Alice. Alice put her hands to her mouth again.

"Don't scream Alice," Rob warned. "We don't want any Beedrill to come out of nowhere and just … well… drill us to death." He started chuckling quietly to himself.

"Oh! Right," She said, "I really want to get a Scyther. Ed, yours look so awesome."

I lightly grabbed Nick's arm and shook it. "Look Nick, she says you look awesome. Now how about you cut some of this grass out the way so we can see everything?"

Like that, Nick took to slashing the grass around us, seeming like he was having fun in the process. Blades of grass collapsed on us, but we brushed them aside. Rob suggested that we follow Nick off the beaten path by walking through the open spaces he made.

"Everyone has a Pokémon out," Alice said. "Here."

She opened her coat and revealed she was wearing some sort of strange belt her Poké Balls were attached to. A wire with a red tab hung at her hip. She touched all her Poké Balls before finally unlatching one, priming it, and dropping it to the ground.

The light seeped out of the ball, forming into a small dark violet, slender creature with tufts of light purple hair coming out of its back and behind its head. Its hands were nonexistent however, with two violently large claws on each arm that twitched like fingers. The Pokémon began to lick its velvety fur, but its perky ears started twitching. The Pokémon dove into the grass. Nick came around and cut the grass down, showing that the Pokémon had swiftly caught a Caterpie and was eating its head.

"Aw man," Alice groaned, "couldn't you have eaten an egg or something? I like Caterpie."

I took out my Poké Dex.

_"Sneasel. Sharp Claw Pokémon. Sneasel scale trees by punching its hooked claws into bark. It seeks out unguarded nests and steals eggs for food while the parents are away."  
_  
"Yeah," Alice said. "She'll follow a bird for a while just to get at its nest. Slasher's a bit creepy when she's like that. She's awesome though. She'll help with cutting down some of this grass."

"Nice," Rob said. "I'm feeling kind of useless here. You two pretty much have it."

After devouring the rest of the Caterpie, Slasher went to work, cutting down grass as well, but occasionally stopping to eat some unsuspecting bug. The five of us continued through the park, encountering small bugs and occasionally running into a Metapod shell lying on the ground. Alice kept on the lookout for Butterfree. Rob was just thankful he didn't see any Kakuna shells. About an hour passed before I spoke what was on everyone's mind.

"There are barely any Pokémon here."

Alice refused to believe that. "Then we'll catch whatever hunted the bugs down then. Poison types. And it looks like Nick found one already and needs your help."

She pointed a bit behind me. I followed her finger and saw Nick going toe to toe with what looked like a pink, long-eared Rhyhorn, but smaller. The three of us crept closer.

Nick was dodging for the most part. His foe was dogging him, leaping into the air trying to bite Nick or stab him with the horn on its head. The Pokémon's mouth was foaming with some sort of purple bubbly liquid that dripped onto the grass, releasing wisps of fumes.

"Woah, that Nidorino is feral," Rob pointed out. "It doesn't even look like Nick has even hit him."

Today was proving to be a fun day for encountering Pokémon. I took out my Dex again.  
_  
"Nidorino. Poison Pin Pokémon. Nidorino has a horn that is harder than a diamond. If it senses a hostile presence, all the barbs on its back bristle up at once, and it challenges the foe with all its might. Quick to anger, it stabs enemies with its horn to inject a powerful poison when it becomes agitated."_

The Nidorino definitely had his spikes erect, ready to kill Nick. I couldn't tell if Nick was afraid or simply trying to find an opening to attack. I wasn't even sure I wanted to return Nick to his Poké Ball and have the Pokémon come after us.

"Ed, you really want to have Nick out like this?" Rob asked. "Bugs are exceptionally weak to poisonous attacks."

I kept quiet and watched. I had noticed that Alice's Slasher was nearby watching as well. Alice wasn't a bad person by any means, but she had made me feel like I was less of a trainer by simply opening her mouth. I wasn't about to have Nick back out without a fight. Nick was too good anyway.

Rob wasn't paying attention. He had seen something through some uncut grass in the distance. "Hey I'll be right back. I think I see a huge flower. I didn't think there were Venusaur here. Hurry up and catch that Nidorino."

He ran off, leaving me and Alice to watch Nick and the Nidorino dance. Alice followed Rob with her eyes. I don't think she intended me to notice.

"Yeah," she said. "If getting the Nidorino is too much for you, could I try?"

I didn't answer, but when Nick doubled over, did a backflip, and dashed toward the Nidorino, I told her, "I think everything's fine."

Nick got low while the Nidorino was in the air, in the middle of a leap. Nick slashed the white underbelly. Blood splashed on Slasher's face and my shoes, making a trail of crimson specks across cut grass. The Nidorino fell to the ground on its side. A pool of blood began to form.

I tossed an empty Poké Ball before the Pokémon died. The light on the primer immediately blinked once the Nidorino was sucked in.

"Gruesome," Alice commented, unfazed. Her Slasher was licking the blood that splashed on her.

I chuckled. "Sure is, ain't it?" Now I was better than Alice. I had the same number of Pokémon as her now and had more badges. I wasn't Rob but she couldn't talk shit about me after seeing Nick do his thing.

Now it was my turn. "So Alice, when are you trying to take me on? I think we owe each other a fight."

Alice didn't answer, instead, her eyes were wide and she took a step back and opened her coat. Something was behind me. I heard a large thud as something heavy hit the ground. The air tasted putrid and grainy.

"Ed, you wouldn't happen to be talking to Alice Rowan would you?"

Riley's voice made me snap around. There he was, with a bloated black eye, sitting on top of a large, fat Venusaur that was as big as a compact car. Its green scaly skin reflected the sunlight and the massive yellow flower on its back sprinkled out yellow powder each time the Pokémon took a breath. He was on its neck, patting it on its stretched out head.

Riley sneered at us despite his wound. He wore a brown overcoat which sides hung off the Venusaur. He took a pistol out and aimed it at us.

"Alice, or Alicia, whatever you want to be called, don't bother taking a Pokémon out," he warned. "I'm not as stupid as those men in Azalea. I actually know how to use Pokémon, and I don't think any of your Pokémon could do anything to this big mama right here."

He patted the Venusaur's head. "I was given special orders, so I was given a special Pokémon."

Face to face with Riley made me want to try and take his gun away from him and shoot him in his head. I wasn't afraid of him anymore. Seeing him confused and enraged me. What was his deal? Why did he pretend to be a trainer? Why did he kidnap me? What was he doing here now?

Riley cleared his throat. "Rob is fine. I don't have a reason to kill him. He's completely paralyzed and will be fine as long as the Pokémon in the Park don't get to him first."

He snickered. "But for you two, I can't say otherwise. Especially you Ed. When Team Zero got you away from those two idiots back in Goldenrod, my boss got pissed."

Who the fuck was this guy? Why did he attack Rob? Why was he holding us up? Why the hell couldn't I just have a good time in the Park without bullshit?

"What the hell do you want, Riley?" my mouth spat.

Riley howled with laughter. The gun was pointed right at me. "Damn Ed, you got an attitude there. You know what I want. I want you to come with me. Or your body, one. Either or."

"Why'd you knock me out in the gym?" I asked.

"Because you were fresh meat. Or I thought you were. Then Team Zero came out of nowhere and bought you back. That would've been fine but my sources said you were travelling with Rob Cypress."

Did he hold some sort of grudge against Rob for what happened before we left Goldenrod? I thought. He continued.

"That name seemed very familiar to me so I did some research and an experiment. I had to make him use his Pokémon to make sure everything was right about him. He's a spoiled rich brat who just likes to play Pokémon. He's a phony. He ran out on his family to become a trainer, and now he's part of Team Zero. Imagine that! The Amber Act did nothing to him. He just figured he'd grace Team Zero with his presence. If I were you, I'd feel insulted for even associating with him. He's an insult to you Team Zero members."

Hidden in the grass beside the Venusaur, Nick launched himself at the bigger beast. A single vine shot out from under the plant and wrapped itself around Nick, keeping his scythes at his side, constricting him. He screeched in pain. Riley stood up on the Venusaur's neck and aimed at Nick's head.

"Let him go!" I shouted.

Alice lightly tapped my side from behind. "Get ready to call Rob's Steelix," she whispered.

Then, Slasher jumped out did her thing, slashing the vine that held Nick right down the middle. Nick fell to the grass with pieces of squirming vine next to him, bleeding light green liquid. The Venusaur let out a guttural groan.

Alice cheered, but was cut off when the remaining vine connected to the Venusaur stretched out even longer from underneath the Venusaur's flower. It swept and knocked Slasher into the air, and with a quick twist, it grabbed her small frame and started constricting. Slasher screamed.

"Put it to sleep," Riley ordered.

The Venusaur swiftly retracted the vine a bit and slammed Slasher onto its flower. Powdery white particles flew into the air and Slasher sneezed from so much getting in her face. The Venusaur dropped her next to us. We watched as she struggled to get up, coughing, weezing, and hacking, before closing her eyes and collapsing. Alice screamed.

"She's asleep," I told her. "She'll be fine."

The same vine snatched Nick up again, but this time around his neck. The Venusaur lifted him by his neck into the air, attempting to lynch him. Nick cut the vine and fluttered down to the ground. He broke into a mad dash toward the Venusaur, brandishing his scythes already stained with the blood from the Nidorino.

A gunshot was heard a split second after Riley shot Nick. Nick was sent stumbling over his own feet, right into the face of the Venusaur, who shrugged him off. Nick fell on his back, mouth agape, with the exoskeleton on his chest split apart by a hole in his chest. A green substance leaked from the wound.

I fell to my knees and screamed. I started to crawl over to Nick, but Riley pointed his gun at me again.

"I didn't want to shoot your Scyther," he said. "It shouldn't have attacked."

Nick should've killed the bastard. I wasn't about to lose Nick to Riley. I punched the ground beneath me, frustrated at how weak I still managed to be despite all that I had accomplished.

"And Alice, keep your Sneasel away from me or else I'll kill it too. It and that Squirtle may have given the boys back in Azalea a hard time but again, I know how to handle Pokémon."

Alice knelt down next to Slasher. Riley's voice went from sadistically playful to sharp and poisonous.

"I didn't say move." He pointed the gun right at her.

She froze.

"You grab your belt, you're dead," Riley assured. "You're wanted dead or alive also. You're sort of like a bonus for me. You aren't worth as much as Ed to me, but there's others who want you in a completely different way. Sick bastard, yeah, but the money he put on your head is too good. I'm sure you could learn to enjoy the loser fucking you. That way everyone is happy."

Alice was on the ground below me. Her brown hair flopped down so I couldn't see her face, but I could tell she was trembling.

With his free hand, Riley took two sheets of paper from his coat and held them out. Both were flyers. One had the photo from my Trainer ID. The other was of Alice with her blonde hair and blue eyes.

"You were attractive back then, Alice. Then you dyed your hair and wore contacts to hide yourself. Too bad it's harder to change your face," he taunted. "Now the both of you come here and smell this huge flower. The sooner you do it, the faster all of this will be done."

There was no way I was going to go down without a fight, even if I were to be killed. But I didn't want Alice to be hurt either, not because of my actions. I just needed to let Shox out to be able to do something. Probably June too. Anything so I could get Rob's Steelix to take Riley out.

Alice hunched over, letting out an inhumane, quiet growl. The top of her head touched the ground and she held on to her body as if she had a stomachache.

Then she roared. A blast of bright light came enveloped her. The surprise knocked me down.

"What the hell?!" Riley hollered. The Venusaur lurched from the sudden light, knocking him off.

I felt someone grab my arm and pull me.

"Get up and get that Steelix!" Alice shouted.

I opened my eyes and saw three Pokémon, all facing down the Venusaur. Shredder the Squirtle, with strands of long white hair coming from his blue head, posed with one foot out in front of the other. Never had I seen something so small look like it could kill with a stare alone from its red eyes. Shocker the Pikachu was sparking up a storm from his cheeks, like the Pikachu I battled in Azalea, but had a larger body and looked ferocious with a scar going down his face, snarling. The most intimidating one of the three was the one that stood the tallest: the Rhyhorn. Though Alice said it was only 5 months old, his armor plates looked every bit as thick as concrete. His body was as thick as two shopping carts put side by side and his namesake's horn was just a round bud on his nose, but he stood firm and bore his teeth.

"Ed! Now!" She shouted again.

I nodded and pulled out Steelix's Poké Ball and primed it. I swung it in every direction I could think of.

The Venusaur gave a low roar and its flower's petals ruffled. Millions of powdery spores flew into the air and began to sprinkle down. Alice pulled me away from the cloud. I could already feel my arms and legs feel numb, as though they fell asleep.

"We got out just in time. The effect shouldn't last," Alice said, watching her Pokémon attack the Venusaur. Shocker was sent flying toward us from a swift whip. Shredder and the Rhyhorn were being suspended into the air. The Venusaur continued to douse them in the spores. Their struggling became weaker.

Alice grabbed my hand and squeezed firmly. She was watching her Pokémon possibly get slaughtered.

I couldn't just stand where I was and let this happen. All her Pokémon were out.

I returned Nick to his ball and prayed he'd hold out until I could get him some medical attention. I pulled out the Poké Balls for June and Shox. I planned on having them burning the Venusaur to a crisp.

But that was someone else's plan.

Alice and I stared in horror and amazement as Rob's Charizard shot out of the grass into the air and flew over the Venusaur. The Venusaur threw the Rhyhorn at Charizard, but he dodged, bringing closer to his opponent. Charizard bit through the vine that held Shredder and freed Alice's Pokémon. He fell to the ground on his shell, frozen from paralysis with his large red eyes twitching around and nothing else moving. The Rhyhorn fell behind us, with an impact powerful enough to make him almost sink into the ground. Alice returned all four of her Pokémon.

The Venusaur spawned two more vines and ensnared Charizard in the air.

Riley chortled as he got up. "Oh how nice. Rob is still kicking. I guess this is my cue to get out of here."

His laughter started to die, and then began sounding forced. "Yeah, I'm not stupid. I know when I don't stand a chance. You two just made your lives a living hell."

The smile on his face left him completely. He put a hand to his forehead and started talking too low. The roars from Charizard and the Venusaur were too loud.

He pointed to his black eye. "I got this because of you Ed. I was called incompetent because of what I did. I did nothing wrong, but they didn't care. The boss told them to have a field day with me. I'm fortunate that I still have my teeth. So I get another chance and this shit happens. You two have no idea who you just got yourselves into. I have friends everywhere."

Riley snickered lightly up at Charizard, who started to blow fire down at the vines. The Venusaur immediately let go, flailing the vines around to kill the flames.

The earth started to tremble.

Then it split underneath the panicked Venusaur.

Steelix emerged from beside it like a holy monolith, and collapsed the top part of her body over the Venusaur. Steelix wrapped his body around Venusaur, having its feet turned toward the air, crushing it.

Then Charizard swooped down and set the Pokémon on fire. The Venusaur lit up like the plant it was, smoldering, with bits of its flower breaking apart and drifting into the air.

Steelix dropped the Venusaur and Charizard unleashed another blast of fire on its pitiful figure. The Venusaur managed to get on its stubby feet. It lifted a single foot up in an attempt to make a step, but then it fell over. The fire had started getting into its skin, and a foul, oily scent filled the air.

Two beams of red light hit Charizard and Steelix and enveloped them. Rob emerged out of the grass holding out their two Poké Balls. His hair was had blades of grass in it and his eyes were bloodshot. Yellow spore was visible on his vest. Then I noticed two small syringes sticking out of his arm, with blood snaking its way down to his wrist.

"Are you both ok?" He breathed out. His voice was weak. "Where's the little bitch at?"

Alice and I looked around. Riley vanished.

"I dunno where he went, but we're fine." Alice said. "We gotta get our Pokémon to a Pokémon Center. Ed's Scyther got shot in the chest and the Venusaur messed up all of my Pokémon. Is there one nearby?"

Rob continued to pant as he let out Charizard again. "Give me all your injured Pokémon. I'll see if I can find a center. Head back to the Inn."

I spoke up. "I still have June and Shox. If Riley comes back or anyone tries to mess with us, I'll use them."

Rob nodded. Alice handed him her belt of Pokémon. I noticed the string with the red tab was pulled out and hung limply. It probably was some mechanism that released all her Pokémon at once.

I gave him Nick's ball. "Please hurry Rob. Please save Nick."

Rob coughed. Yellow spore even came from his mouth. "I will. I promise. I'll be back at the inn by night. Did you catch that Nidorino? Give me the ball cause it might be injured too."

I had forgotten about the Pokémon I just caught. I gave him the ball.

Alice and I stepped back as Rob climbed on Charizard's back. He put on Alice's belt and put both balls in its two remaining slots, and then off without even looking back. We watched him fly off, and then we silently watched the burning corpse of the Venusaur. The smoke from it rose all the way to the blue sky in a column. I had forgotten it was still morning time.

"Come on, let's get out of here," I told Alice. "Riley still might be around and he probably has friends with him. I saw him with some dudes trying to mess with Rob back in Goldenrod."

So we left the Park and began to make our way back to the inn by following an abandoned road that eventually lead to the highway that Rob and I took on the way here. Neither of us remembered how to get through the woods to get directly back to the inn. Also, we figured it would be smarter to be in a place where people could see us just in case.

We didn't have any conversations for a long while. I think both of us were shook up by what happened. We were both being pursued by Riley for whatever reason. I honestly didn't expect to see him again, but I couldn't say the same about Alice. She had a fit back there. I didn't know what was going on in her head. I couldn't just ask her either. Riley mentioned something about rape. I wouldn't want anyone talking about me watching a kid get mauled to death, so it wouldn't be any better to talk to her about whatever happened to her.

For that moment, we trusted each other because we were on the same page, and perhaps even in the same book as far as I knew, but we had backstories neither of us knew about. Would we learn about each other? I wondered. She was definitely a good trainer, but something happened in Azalea. And if my hunch was right, that something was terrible.

And then there was Rob. I could quote Riley's speech about Rob word for word. Was it true Rob was part of Team Zero? He definitely sounded like he was on good terms with them, but I never imagined him being a member. He shared the team's beliefs…or at least what I knew about Team Zero's beliefs at the time, but why would he have me tag along with him? He couldn't have been trying to recruit me since we met near the beginning of summer and now fall was approaching. He would've just asked me to be a member back when he saved me from the Skarmory. And didn't he tell me not to mess with Team Zero? He didn't respond well when I showed him I used a Zero Ball.

This led me to ask Alice a question.

"Alice, are you going to Ecruteak to join Team Zero?"

She nodded. "Yep," she said. There was determination in her voice, but out of fear. "I have to get away from these people. They tried messing with me before and Team Zero seems like the only safe place."

What she said next still sends chills down my back.

Her voice fell low, but loud enough for me to hear through the sound of passing cars. "And then I'll leave when I'm strong enough and become a Champion. And then I'll find Riley and his _friends _in Azalea and I'll kill them with my bare hands with the law supporting me. Nobody like that deserves to get away with what they do. They're bullies. They're trash with egos."

I didn't respond. I had no words to say, but I did hope she would pull it off. When I was facing Riley, I did feel like I could have killed him and not given a care in the world.

"What about you?" she asked, still looking ahead. "You're going to join Team Zero too?"

Before this morning, I would've said no. Now I was in doubt. Alice's reasons for joining Team Zero made sense, and if Rob was really a part of them, then the Team couldn't possibly be that bad, could it?

I felt fickle. "I don't know."

Rob was my friend. Riley called him a liar. There was no way I was going to put anything Riley said over anything Rob did, so I concluded that Riley didn't have the full story.

If Rob had any plans for me in Ecruteak, I'd see them.

"I'm not going to mention anything Riley told me about Rob," I finally said.

"I didn't think you would," Alice replied. "If I were you, I wouldn't. What are you going to do though? You're headed to Ecruteak too."

I sighed. "I'll head there still. Rob's my friend. He saved my life twice now. Or at least that many times." If Riley did tell some truth, then was Rob the reason why Team Zero rescued me from those two guys back in Goldenrod? Team Zero said they were always watching me too. Rob was always there.

"Well a Zero member recruited me while I was in Goldenrod, which is why I'm on the way to Ecruteak right now. What if Rob asks you to join?" Alice asked.

If Rob wanted to recruit me, wouldn't he have done so already? We'd been traveling with each other for about three months now. And besides, when I showed him the Zero Ball I had that I used to rescue the Slowpoke, wouldn't he have done more than tell me to keep it hidden? Why would he hide such a secret for so long? Why did he stick with me anyway?

I had returned to asking questions again. So I gave the only response I could give:

"I don't know. But I do trust him with my life and the lives of my Pokémon. I may not know what he has in store, but I trust him way more than I ever will with Riley."

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_I hope you enjoyed Chapter 22! It's quite long due to tying up so many things between different characters. Read and review it! Tell me what you think! And Part 1 is almost done!_


	23. Chapter XXIII: The Road's End

_Author's Note - I managed to get two chapters up in a single month!_

_..._

_And I have two tests on Monday and Tuesday _...__  


* * *

_

_[You must have some sort of alternative solution to be so sure and definite.]_

"_Nope. I helped stop one of these 'world-saving' plots already and I'm going to stop this one too. Saving the world isn't even on the top of Murr's priority list and he just preaches about that to screw with people's heads. His friend was like that too, even though he was a bit genuine in the end._

_[So, you really think that you can concoct a better solution?]_

"_How about you come up with something? You're a genius aren't you? And why are you asking me all these things? I came here to ask you stuff and all you did was interview me."_

_[I couldn't care less about humanity and its problems.]_

"_You should do something. If you did, I bet you could come out of this nasty cave and people would accept you. The Pokémon League's getting better. Champions aren't so stuffy anymore. They're way more accepting. We're all looking for a change and any sort of help we can get would be greatly appreciated."_

_[…]_

_(silence)_

"_So you read my thoughts?"_

_[Yes, and any attempt on trying to have me consumed by one of those Domini-infused devices will bring about swift and fatal repercussions.]_

_(silence)_

~Mewtwo (pt 4/6)

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Chapter XXIII: The Road's End

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Alice and I eventually made it back to the Inn that same afternoon. Dr. Leek threw a fit after seeing us covered in spore. He made us take all sort of pain relievers though we were hardly paralyzed. Mrs. B figured a better idea would be to keep us both in motion, so she had us help make dinner and bake a chocolate cake. The night came by fast.

Dr. Leek allowed us to stay up late and wait for Rob just as long as we didn't wake up the other kids. He kept the fireplace going for us and left for bed. I thought about letting Shox out to sleep by the fire, but I had forgotten to ask Dr. Leek and Mrs. B if having Pokémon in the house was fine.

So it was just me and Alice. I sat in the same recliner I was in this morning. Instead of Rob across of me, Alice, staring silently into the fire with her feet kicked up. She was holding her head up with a fist, pondering about whatever.

I had finally run into her since our meeting in Cherrygrove, and Riley comes out of nowhere trying to catch us like Pokémon. And again, Rob was there save me. To save us. He walked out of the tall grass with two Paralyze Heal syringes stuck in his arm, covered in spore, and then gets on his Charizard and flies off with our Pokémon to find a Pokémon Center.

With over 12 hours to let what went down this morning settle with me, I was pissed at how I only felt more useless and afraid. Alice used all her Pokémon to try and save us. I just managed to get Nick shot at and he was dead for all I knew. All the while, I managed to have two healthy Pokémon in my backpack.

Nick got shot and I stood around and did nothing. He had been loyal to me ever since I got him in Azalea but I couldn't even throw out another Pokémon nor do anything for him.

I sulked in my chair, realizing that I was a shitty trainer and even more useless human being.

I looked up at Alice again. She was still thinking and staring into the fire. Perhaps she was mad at me. She had every reason to be, I thought.

And then I got the strangest desire to find my parents and scream at them. My dad was right and my mom was in denial. After facing death in the face again so soon, it seemed that whatever I thought of wouldn't make a difference in what lay ahead of me. How many more times would I have to fight off someone trying to take my life? Would I have to stand around and watch my Pokémon die?

Suddenly, I stopped myself. Memories of wanting to kill June when she was a baby returned. Rob told me not to think so much and I was letting myself go a little bit too far.

I breathed out a small, melancholic laugh. Rob told me that I thought too much and to think less. Rob saved my life two times, or possibly three if what Riley said was true.

I noticed Alice glance at me but quickly went back to looking at the fire. She probably wanted to say something to me. I wanted to ask her about Rob, but the silence was awkward.

A few minutes passed and Alice got out of her chair. She opened her mouth to talk but nothing came out. She started to clear her throat and beat her chest. We had been silent for a good while.

"I'm about to get some cake and some milk. You want some?" she asked.

What? Was she going to get it for me? I got up. "Sure," I said, having an easier time speaking.

I followed her into the kitchen. She got the cake out the oven and I took the milk out the fridge. She was in the middle of ripping a paper towel off the roll when she saw me take two glasses out the cupboard. She got a second paper towel and cut two slices of cake.

We sat across from each other at the kitchen table and ate without a word. My mom would let me help her bake things so working with Mrs. B was no problem. Alice handled mixing the ingredients, but before that she was just standing around trying not to get in the way. She seemed distracted.

Then there was the sound of a door opening in the hallway, followed by a few small footsteps, and the sound of the bathroom door opening and closing. One of the kids had gotten up from bed.

"I was kind of hoping that was Rob," I said, taking another bite from my slice.

"Yeah," Alice responded, "I want my Pokémon back."

More silence. The kid flushed the toilet, washed his hands, and went back to bed, closing the door behind him. The clock rang two.

"So," I started, hoping for a conversation to make time pass by faster, "what…"

My words fell flat. I didn't have anything to talk about.

"'So what' what?" Alice asked.

"Nothing." I shook my head. "Forget about it."

She shrugged as she finished the last of her milk. I still had a bit left. More sitting around saying nothing. I got up and put my glass in the sink. When I turned around to get back in my seat, Alice was staring straight at me, hunched over.

"You have really nice eyes," she said. "Who did you get them from? Your mom or your dad?"

As random as the observation was, it was something to talk about. "My mom. My dad has brown eyes but my mom and my brother all have green eyes."

"Aww," she cooed. "What about your red hair? It's so vibrant. You should wash it more so you can look like a model for a shampoo commercial."

I chuckled at the picture of me fluttering my hair for a camera. "All of my family has red hair. My mom's hair is darker than my dad's though. Both of them used to tell me mine would get lighter the older I get. My brother's hair never changed as he got older, so I dunno what's gonna happen with me."

Alice held her chin and curled an eyebrow, analyzing my face and hair. "That happens sometimes. You'll be alright."

She smiled weakly, and then she gave a defeated sigh. She pulled on some of hair resting on her shoulder. "This'll sound weird but I miss my hair. And my eyes too."

I got a bit too into wanting to have a conversation. "What about your name?" I joked.

I laughed at myself. Her fingers froze and she shot me a dark glare. I shut myself up fast.

"It felt weird being called Alice again," she uttered faintly, resuming rubbing her hair between her fingers. "I got used to Alicia fast back in Goldenrod, but just in case I have to lose _this _identity, I came up with a better name. How does Celia sound?"

"Sounds nice," I said, keeping my mouth from running.

"It's just an anagram of Alice!" She chirped. "Nice huh?"

I shrugged. "I guess. What about last names?"

She opened her mouth, but was cut short by loud quick tapping on the kitchen window, right above the sing. We both fell quiet, and then looked at each other expectantly, wondering who'd get up to see who or what was behind the curtained window. After a few seconds, Alice cursed at our indecisiveness and got up. Before she could even move the curtain, we heard a voice.

"Hey! It's me!" Rob shouted from outside, his voice muffled by the glass. "Let me in!"

Alice and I beamed at each other and ran to the front door, both of us unlocking it. Rob came inside, his clothes still doused in the yellow spore. He undid Alice's belt around his waist and handed it to her.

"Your Pokémon were pretty paralyzed by the time I found a Center," Rob said, plopping into a recliner, exhausted. "But I've seen Centers handle worse cases."

She stared at the belt for a moment, grinning ear to ear, and then ran outside into the darkness. I saw the glow from an opened Poké Ball and turned on the porch light for her. I also wanted to get a better look at the belt. I counted five balls.

She was on her knees, sharing an embrace with Shredder. His stubby blue legs twitched in the air as he rubbed his head against hers. She held him above her head like a mother holding up her baby son. I stepped outside and, again, counted five balls on the belt now on her waist.

Alice made to take out all of her Pokémon, but either she noticed she had an extra Poké Ball or she noticed an empty notch on her belt.

I never counted how many times Rob had to put his hand on my shoulder, but whenever I felt down, his hand managed to be there.

"Well, Ed," Rob managed to get out. His eyes darted across the porch, back and forth, as if searching for something.

He was going to tell me that one of my Pokémon died. The Nidorino could've died since it was feral and I had just caught it. Nick dying would be a cruel coincidence: I didn't help him, he doesn't return to me.

I deflated inside and sulked with my hands in my pockets, removing myself from Rob, Alice, the woods, the house, the route, Johto, and the planet.

I was brought crashing back by Rob shaking my shoulder. Alice had taken the extra Poké Ball and opened it, revealing the Nidorino lying down with his dark eyes darting between everyone outside. The scar Nick cut into him stretched of his sides all the way to the other, stitched up with surrounding skin swelling into a red-orange color.

"Nick did a number on him," Rob recalled. "When a nurse opened up the Poké Ball, I swore I saw a piece of something fall out of him. Nasty wound. It would be crazy if when you get Nick back, the two started fighting each other because of what happened."

I glared up at him as if he was mocking me. "Nick's not dead?"

He hesitantly laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "No, he's still in the Pokémon Center. He got hurt the worst, but the nurses said they'll drop him in your Box once he's able to breathe on his own."

Nick was alive. I brightened up on the inside, not feeling like much of a failure anymore. At that moment, I made a silent vow to not let my Pokémon go down without a fight as long as I could do something.

Alice came up to us, sitting on her nameless Rhyhorn. Shredder was sitting in front of her and Slasher was digging in the ground for food. Shocker was on her head curled into a ball, asleep. All of them were cleaned of the Venusaur's spore.

"We should do something for him and Slasher," she said. "They tried to save us."

"Then we ought to do something for the rest of your Pokémon then," I admitted. "They did try to fight the thing."

Alice gave a small shrug and reached over her head, massaging Shocker's rear leg.

"I can make them a huge meal when we get to Ecruteak," Rob declared. He looked over his shoulder at the clock inside, reading a quarter to 3. "Which…should be in a few hours."

Both Alice and I shouted no at him at the same time. He gave a hearty yawn and stretched, popping his back. "Yeah, I guess I could get some sleep too. Your Nidorino over there has the right idea, but I think his drugs are just kicking in."

He pointed over at the sleeping Pokémon that hadn't moved at all except for closing his eyes. In the light, a trail of some liquid ran from his mouth and snaked its way into the grass. Small bits of smoke rose from it.

"The nurses said the Nidorino has a drooling problem," Rob informed me. "I thought it was crazy, but they said he has too much toxin inside of him and he just drools it out. They think he's been doing it all his life."

Rob and I went over to him, making sure to step over the burning drool. I gently rubbed the inside of his blue ear. A pleasant response came in the form of a guttural, soft growl.

Rob got beside me and carefully lifted the Nidorino's lips, revealing his sharp small teeth.

"You should probably start evolving him, like, ASAP," Rob said. "Nidoking stand upright and are way bigger. His body should be able to support all of the toxins then without having it drool everywhere."

"Don't you need a Moon Stone for that?" Alice asked from behind us. She had walked her Rhyhorn to a patch of grass to graze on. "I've seen them go for over ten thousand dollars on UG-mart. My dad bought one from some Sinnoh trader, but it was a fraud so he got his money back. He was going to evolve my sister's Jigglypuff."

"Damn, really? That sucks for him," Rob said. "I got all my stones off of UG-mart when I was breeding Eevee, but Moon Stones are rarer so I guess they'd be more expensive."

We talked for a while about our Pokémon, but Alice went on to tell us about how her dad was a Pokémon Trainer who got eight badges and got to the semifinals in the 39th Hoenn Regional's. She said his bedtime stories about his battles were what made her want to be a trainer, and then finally a Champion.

"My mom is a librarian," Alice said while putting her Pokémon back into their balls. "She'd check out Champion biographies and I'd just read them up in school when I could. I don't think she expected me to be a trainer though, but Dad just loved the idea so much that he was gonna let me take the family Growlithe as my starter! But I think he only offered because Fifi was brand new and potty training her seemed impossible…"

After we gathered all of our Pokémon, we headed to sleep. The following morning, Mrs. B made us more breakfast and she and her husband saw us out as we headed to Ecruteak. Rob said it wasn't too far.

We encountered a few trainers who wanted to battle. I used the opportunity to let Shox out, who was more than happy to light up some Pokémon and to run around or nuzzle me to the ground. But since I only had one useable Pokémon, I made sure to note that I would only do one versus one battles. My trick was to keep Shox in his Poké Ball and wait to see what my opponent threw out. If it was a ground type like a Sandslash or a rock type like a Graveler, I would just give up and give them a small amount of money, hiding the fact that I had more money on me.

Rob took on everything and everyone with his Charizard. The both of them never lost once, or even looked worn out at all. Alice's Pokémon were a great team and she switched them out of battle if they were worn out, but she took her job as a Trainer seriously. Yelling, screaming, cheering, and I swore she shed a single tear at one point when a trainer's Machop chucked Shocker into a bush.

Then finally, right before night fell, we reached the Ecruteak City limits. The buildings were small and quaint with streetlights starting to turn on, giving off an antique and vintage feel. Trees were grown in bunches and the city seemed to be quite large since the buildings sprawled all the way north for a good while. Not many cars passed by us, but instead, buses of tourists sped down the highway.

"Some people are here for the paranormal stuff," Rob said, "like over in the Tin Tower over there."

He pointed to a red and white Pagoda tower to the east, in front of Mt. Silver which was a backdrop from where we stood. Another one stood in the west, but the top half of it was completely gone as if a fire consumed it. The Burned Tower.

"I heard if you stand in front of the Tin Tower at dawn, the sun comes up right behind it," I recalled from 5th grade Social Studies video. "And on certain nights, the full moon is always right behind what used to be the top of the tower that burned up."

Rob nodded and pulled on his backpack straps. "Yeah, those trends go along with the legends of Ho-oh and Lugia, and scientists have found traces of them in the towers. Strange huh? They even found traces of the legendary Pokémon Entei, Raikou, and Suicune in The Burned Tower."

"Wow, Ecruteak sure has a lot of legends then," Alice noted, sitting atop on her Rhyhorn.

Rob led the way to the center of the city, saying that that's where we'd be staying. He took the time to explain more about Nick's condition.

"So Nick's fine, but Riley really messed him up," Rob said solemnly. "The bullet completely ruined one of his lungs so now he's hooked up to a machine to breathe."

We were in a shopping district, weaving through crowds of tourists and other Ecruteakians. I almost tripped over someone's Phanphy out from being too distracted. I was at first happy that Nick survived but Rob made his condition sound worse with each word.

"The thing about Scyther is that they have that weak green plating around their body," he explained. "If anything with enough strength hits them, it'll break pretty easily and expose their insides. That's why they gotta be fast all the time."

"But he's going to get better, right?" I asked pleadingly.

"Oh yeah," Rob said with a grin back at me. "Definitely, but you're going to have to wait a bit, like a few weeks. They have to fix his lung first, then his armor since if it breaks, then all of the armor will start to collapse. Scyther's live their lives trying not to get hit too much. A lot of Scyther die before they can fully heal up."

"Isn't that why some Scyther try to have their eggs close to underground deposits of metal?" Alice said, who had been listening and taking in the sights of all the shops.

"And that's what I was about to get at," Rob responded. "Since the lung machine is metallic and close to him, Nick's remaining shell will probably heal all weird. The Center will have to give him some metal coating so all of his shell will become armor and not just where the wound is."

A Scyther covered in a metal coat meant one thing. "He's going to be a Scizor?" I asked.

Rob nodded. "Yep," he said. "Congrats, you just pulled off a common scam some trainers do with their Scyther, except you didn't lie to anyone and you didn't harm your own Pokémon."

Fighting that one Scizor in Azalea Town was by far the most difficult battle I had won. Nick would be able to probably dodge bullets like Jim talked about if Nick got that Scizor's skills.

Rob, Alice, and I continued to make our way through the endless wave of people. As we continued on, I remembered that the Pokemon gym in Ecruteak used Ghost type Pokémon and I hadn't seen any at all.

And then I saw my first strange, eerie sight. A small, metallic Pokémon, floating above us in the air, staring down at us with one large, circular red eye. And then I noticed dark blurs float by it, floating over the heads of all the tourists. That one metal Pokémon, with its round head with the single eye, attached to a large appendage. The creature reminded me of a security camera.

Rob saw it and gave it thumbs up, excited. "Everything's going fine now. You see that Beldum above us? We're going to follow it."

"Follow it?" Alice asked. "To where?"

"To a good friend of mine. Ed knows her," Rob answered, hustling through the crowds. We all ended up in an alleyway behind the shops, devoid of any humans and lit only by the orange light of windows. I was reminded of the time those two guys in Goldenrod forced me to walk through a similar alley. The Beldum hovered down to ground level and fixated on Rob. It's eye seemed to focus and refocus like the lens of a camera.

His face suddenly fell into bitterness. "I thought we were cool," he said aloud.

Both Alice and I stared at each other, weirded out and a bit suspicious. Then Alice looked forward, and a wide smile grew on her face.

"Nina!" she hollered.

"Alicia?" Questioned a familiar voice. Stepping out from another alley and donning a black hoodie, Nina had a confused look behind her glasses, and then became bright and elated as Alice ran up to her and hugged her. The Beldum left Rob and started circling the two girls rapidly, squeaking.

"Here I am!" Alice said, embracing Nina tighter. "Didn't I say I'd reach Ecruteak?"

Nina rubbed the back Alice's head. "You sure did," she said, with questionable enthusiasm. She gave a menacing look at Rob. He shrugged and put his hands in his pockets.

Then she noticed me and gave me her warm smile. "Hey again, Ed. How've you been doing?"

"Uh…hey," I uttered, confused. Thinking about the alleyway reminded me of something else, namely the Team Zero members that rescued me. That Beldum reminded me of the Metagross that floated above that building, with the female Team Zero member sitting on its head.

And then I remembered Beldum eventually turned into Metagross. But when the Beldum got close to Nina's waist, a Poké Ball somehow fell out from underneath her hoodie. The ball defied gravity, orbiting around the Beldum, who just rolled itself over playfully.

I thought I had found one of my rescuers from that night.

I looked over at Rob, who was standing around awkwardly due to whatever happened between him and Nina.

I thought I had found another one of my rescuers from that night.

Perhaps Riley was right.

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_This chapter was shorter than 22, but things are starting to build up. I hope that none of you will be disappointed where this story leads. Be sure to comment on the story!_


	24. Chapter XXIV: From Cherrygrove to Ecrute

_Wow, I really messed up the first version of this chapter....I rushed it and had too many irrelevant things going on. If you read it already, I'm sorry for all the errors. This chapter was something I was sort of building up toward for a while and I feel like I ruined it. So hopefully these edits will redeem some of my mistakes. Read and review!_

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"_Since you like to ask me so many questions, how about I ask you this? What if he comes after you? What will you do then? Everyone knows you're in this cave, but are just afraid to come down here and kick you out. You haven't done anything to give them a reason to try to kick you out either, but what's to stop Murr from coming down here and capturing you? I'm sure he would have something far worse than a Poké Ball."_

_[I would kill him.]_

"_I don't think you can kill him. I don't think you could even touch him."_

_[We are of the same ilk. I am him, crafted with the definition of perfection in the mind of the sinful, inferior humans that created me. Anything he can do, I can do to him a hundredfold.]_

"_He doesn't operate like you though. You isolate yourself. Murr actually has a goddamn network. You look down upon humanity's notions of sociology and stuff, but don't underestimate the power of just knowing enough people to kick your ass. He managed to put himself in a position where his right arm could literally be the law if he wanted it to be and wanted to put in some time and effort."_

_[If that's the case, then he is weak and inferior. If he has that sort of control over humans also, then tell me, what does that say about them?]_

"_Well, for the ones that know of him, I don't think any of them are foolish to doubt him like you're doing. It's as if you just want to sit in this cave an live the rest of your life."_

_[You couldn't be any closer to the truth.]_

"_And you want to die here?"_

_[Are you threatening me?]_

"_No, but I'm asking if you want to die here?"_

_[I want to live the rest of my life in this cave, deep in it, away from humans.]_

"_And If there are no humans left, you're going to stay in here?"_

_[Perhaps. Perhaps not. You are testing my patience.]_

"_Yeah, well, get this. You think you'll have a hard time with living with whatever exists outside this cave now? I can honestly tell you that your life will be hell if Murr gets his way."_

_~Mewtwo (pt. 5/6)_

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**Chapter XXIV: From Cherrygrove to Ecruteak**

I found myself lurking through the Ecruteak alleys, stepping in puddles of God knew what, along with trying to cope with Rob and Nina bickering at each other. Nina's Beldum had taken a liking to Alice, so it hovered above her shoulders. Alice and I didn't speak much to each other, but I figured both of us wanted to know where we were going. Or at least I thought that then.

Perhaps hearing Nina tell Rob about his life for the umpteenth time made me want to start a conversation. I noticed that Alice was goggling at the Beldum, and at times, it would focus its lens-like eye at her, and then somersault slowly over itself.

"You want to get your own?" I asked.

"Who wouldn't?" She said. She poked the Beldum, causing it to float a bit higher up like it was in outer space. "Every Champion gets a Metang or a Metagross, and Champion Steven Stone popularized the use of Metagross in competitive play back in the old days."

The old days? From what I learned from everyone ever talking about 'the old days', things were much simpler with kids going out to be trainers without any sort of pressure in their choice of lifestyle. Then I'd see Alice, who seemed happy-go-lucky enough outside of a Pokémon battle. After seeing her lapse when we ran into Riley though, I knew there was more to her than dyed hair and an interest in competitive Pokémon training.

Then I noticed she seemed to gaze at the Beldum with a sort of a sad desperation. She'd play with the floating piece of metal, and sometimes it would lift her hair by the strands, making her almost look like some sad divine goddess out of old Fiorian paintings.

Making conversation seemed to be the best idea, considering Rob and Nina were busy. "You said you chose to be a trainer, right?" I asked.

She rubbed her nose, gesturing uneasiness? She spoke in a low, forlorn voice. "I thought I told you. My dad sort of raised me to be one."

I didn't want to get into her personal life, but something seemed off about her. "What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing," she said unconvincingly.

And that was the end of that conversation. Or at least I hoped so, but the quieter we were, the more curious I became. I wanted to ask her what happened to her between running into her in Cherrygrove and finding her outside Goldenrod. Unfortunately, I believed Rob's suspicion, that someone tried to hurt her or did, possibly raping her, and forced her to walk around with dyed hair and colored contacts.

It had only been a few days, but I already guessed Alice was someone who was a few Pokémon short of a full party. She talked about killing a bit too casually back in the National Park, and spoke about having revenge on Riley and his superiors and whoever was unfortunate enough to mess with her in Azalea.

So I began to think, 'Should I be as angry as she seems to be?' I hated Riley but I just wanted to be left alone. In fact, being away from home for two or three months made me a bit lethargic about my future. My needs were simple: I just wanted to be left alone to live with my Pokémon. I was starting to even wonder if getting all eight badges would mean anything to me in the long run.

Alice had a goal, and that was to be a Champion. Rob said he wanted to be one too, but he lacked Alice's conviction. Whether that was a good or bad thing, I didn't know. I actually thought Rob would've been fine without being a Champion. In fact, I couldn't even see Rob as a Champion.

Or at least, I couldn't see him being a Champion working with the Champions I had met, the same ones who enforced the Amber Act, and leading kids to be eventually mauled to death by their own Pokémon, and that's if they didn't get killed by Pokémon foreign to the environment because another incapable trainer was forced to bite off more than he could chew, probably choking to death from all the pressure of having to figure out what to do with their lives. Their future consisted of getting eight badges, or at least the Champions hoped so, that or catching as many Pokémon as they could but failing at the gym challenges so the trainers could train harder and be more effective tools.

I was a tool. The world could rest easy knowing that there was one less wild Luxio, Scyther, Nidorino, and Combusken.

Never had being a kid annoyed me so much, walking down that alleyway following Rob and Nina to wherever. It probably was the Beldum using some sort of psychic ability, but too contemplative even for me.

If anything, I believed that if there was one thing I wanted to do, it was to stop having kids being forced to be trainers. It was like June turned on a fire inside of me. I found myself angry at myself for being so ignorant about the world around me and ticked off at Pokémon and Champions causing the Amber Act.

I was probably making a bunch of funny faces from feeling the passion since Alice and the Beldum were staring at me funny…well…as funny as a Beldum could stare at someone.

"What's on your mind, Ed?" Alice asked, having the Beldum roll over her arms.

"Too much," I sighed out.

Because I wasn't paying attention, I walked right into Nina's back, knocking her glasses off. Rob picked them up and she snatched them from his hand, and then daintily put them back on her face. Rob muttered something incomprehensible from under his breath.

"Well, I think we're going to split up now," Nina said as she put her hands on her hips, staring at the back of building in front of us. "The way to the gym is shorter if you just follow the street outside this restraurant."

"Where are you going?" Alice asked. The Beldum left her side for Nina's head. Alice's face became pitifully heartbroken.

"I'm heading for the gym too, but I have to take the long way," Nina answered, pointing down another alleyway leading deep into Ecruteak. "I also need to rendezvous with a few people also."

Rob scoffed and rolled his eyes. "'Rendezvous'? You make it sound like you're some secret agent on a mission."

Nina smirked. "Of course it's a mission," she said coyly. "You used to have them too before you went joyriding."

Rob immediately dropped his sarcastic demeanor for a more serious tone. "Nina, you really don't understand."

Nina held up a gloved hand in front of his face. "Please stop that. I don't want to hear it again. And I'd rather we not do this in front of Ed and Alicia."

For once, Rob raised his voice. "You act like I can tell you this shit easily! I keep telling you not to worry about it but you, for some goddamn reason, always have to sneak the whole issue in every damn thing we do now!"

Nina put up her hood, covering most of her face in a deep darkness. "I have to. I have to make sure you're actually paying attention and not in la-la land. Also, you're lying to me and I hate liars."

"I'm not lying," Rob retorted.

"You're not telling the truth," Nina said flatly. "Come on, Inez. We have to get back soon. And Rob? Talk to Ed."

With that, Nina ran off down the alley with her Beldum following at her side. Alice's eyes were wide from shock.

"It…it said something!" She stammered. "It said 'Okay!' It sounded like a little girl too!"

I heard nothing, and Rob seemed to ignore Alice's bewilderment, so I said nothing about it and figured it was just a Psychic Pokémon thing.

Rob, however, looked worse than me when I learned I had to get eight badges to get my life back. With a few words, Nina managed to bring out his miserable side. He stood there, muscular arms folded, eyes to the ground, with a lost expression on his face, silent.

Nina had said he had to talk to me about something. That something, with no doubt in my mind, was related to Team Zero. Nina wasn't even trying to hide she was up to something, hiding out in an alley wearing dark clothes.

"Yo Alice," Rob finally said, his voice hushed from whatever misfortune was in his head, "you think you could find the Gym by yourself? You literally just have to follow the signs outside this restaurant here."

He looked up at the nearby building.

Alice frowned. "Sure, I guess. You two can't come with me?"

Rob cracked a smile at the side of his mouth. "Nina'll be there by the time you reach it. I'll be there later. Right now, Ed and I have to figure out something."

It was Alice's turn to be downtrodden. She looked at me, speaking softly. "I thought you were going to join Team Zero too." She looked back at Rob, lit up with hope. "He is, isn't he?"

I had a choice between saying "What?" "Well goddamn it," and, "This is stupid." Instead, I just let Rob answer, since he led both me and Alice on.

"We'll see," Rob muttered, "now go on through the restaurant first. No one will stop you. I'll see you at the gym. Now go."

Alice climbed the steps to the open, lit up doorway, with smoke floating out of it carrying the smell of fried grease. Before running into the restaurant, she looked down at me, leaning over the railing.

"Ed, you really don't have anything to lose," she said sadly. "You already know what I'm going to do."

Then she picked up. "But if you decide not to join up, the next time you see me it'll probably be during my Hall of Fame induction ceremony! So see you later!"

And then it was Alice's turn to run off, leaving me and Rob.

"What did she mean by 'what she's going to do'?" Rob asked, confused by Alice's sudden declaration.

"She plans on sticking with Team Zero until she gets strong enough to be a Champion," I explained.

Rob rubbed his chin, gazing up at the door. "Some goal. I believe she'll get what she wants."

"What, to be a Champion or for me to be a member of Team Zero?" I asked with sarcastic humor. Rob didn't take it as light as I wanted him too.

"Yeah…about that," he responded. "I guess before we head to the gym, I gotta wear your ears out."

He took out his Poké Dex and opened it. "It's a bit past nine. You want to get something to eat? We can get some take out and find some place to see if we can attract ghosts. There's a lot of them here."

So that was his plan. I followed him inside the restaurant, finding myself in an unoccupied hallway with a busy amount of people at the other end dining on Kanto cuisine, as in burgers, fries, hotdogs, et cetera. A number of ceiling fans spun and illuminated the whole room with a hazy light that mixed with the smoke from the grills in the kitchens.

My stomach grumbled and started to ache in emptiness from the smell of food. It had been a while since I last had legit fast food. I got even hungrier when I realized I had enough money to buy a decent meal.

I stepped ahead of Rob, intending to buy a burger and a drink. The moment we emerged into the open area, Rob jerked me back into the hallway, nearly making me fall over on my back.

"Fuck!" he hissed under his breath.

"What?" I asked.

He nudged his head over at a corner in the dining area. I looked in the direction and saw a waitress scribbling something on a pad of paper, walking away from the table where the Champion Miranda sat, wearing a rose pink kimono and her pale blonde hair in a tight bun, talking to Alice, who was leaning over the table to listen, holding her head up with her hands.

Rob looked over his shoulder before making his way back out to the alley. "I guess we'll be taking the long way, or we could just find another way to get back on the main street." He shrugged. "Shouldn't be too hard."

I followed behind. "You're afraid Alice might somehow get Miranda to come up to us?"

He stomped on ahead. "Yep. I don't want to run into a Champion, and definitely not that bitch."

Miranda couldn't have been by herself though. "You think Roger's here?"

"He has to be," Rob said, scratching his unshaven chin. "Rodge suddenly stopped all independent thought one day, and now Miranda has to change his diapers as far as I know. And Miranda gotta have someone to boss around. They'll always be in the same place."

"Why do you think they're here?" I asked.

"To stop Team Zero, obviously," Rob said. "I've been hearing stuff over the grapevine for months now, and now, I think the Champions are getting ready for a huge raid or something."

"A raid?"

"Yeah. To put it simply, the Johto Team Zero members are in a corner and now they gotta get out."

I had been at Rob side as we walked down the alleyway, but those words made me lag behind. And then I finally stopped.

"Rob, I'm not stupid," I said.

He stopped and turned around. My reaction caught him off guard. "Wha-?"

I put my fidgeting hands in my pockets and looked up at him, keeping my back as straight as I could. "Riley, the kid in the National Park that attacked us with that Venusaur, he pretty much told me that you were part of Team Zero."

Suddenly, I found that I couldn't even look at Rob, so I stared at the wet concrete mixed with bits of sand, checkered with bottlecaps, old gum, and other trash.

"This is stupid," I admitted, "but I think I'm actually mad that you didn't tell me."

Thankfully, I didn't gather any tears, but my voice started to crack. "You don't trust me. I don't think you trust me."

It made perfect sense. He didn't tell me about his identity because he didn't trust me. Why would he? I thought. It had only been a few months. That wasn't enough time to make friends.

I saw Rob as a friend, but I never did acknowledge the possibility that he didn't see me in the same way. And standing in front of him, thinking about all this, was extremely embarrassing, from the fact that he was there and the fact that I figured him being in Team Zero in the first place wouldn't matter to me. The opposite was true: it did matter. It mattered because I could've turned him in or found some other way to jeapordize whatever motive he had.

"Ed," he managed to say.

"I don't know why I never let myself think of that," I continued, "but why wouldn't it be true?"

I looked back up at him, ashamed that I allowed myself to be so weak and ignorant. I managed to give a weak grin. "It's okay though. You saved my life and I guess that's all that really matters. I didn't care that you were a member but I did think you were my friend."

Rob did say that he'd follow me all the way to Ecruteak. We made it, and we were walking around alleyways talking about Team Zero and Champions at first, to me talking about Rob never seeing me as a friend.

If I were him, being a member and all, would I honestly befriend some random kid? I had done nothing for him, so I was probably a tool for him as much as I was for the Pokemon League.

My trust for Rob managed to wane completely.

"Ed, dude, don't say that," Rob pleaded. "Let me explain. Oh man, I didn't mean for you to react like this."

"Like I said, I'm not stupid," I told him. "Why do you care? I'm not even mad at you. I think you're a good person actually."

He curled an eyebrow at me. "Huh?"

"But we're not friends," I said with a heavy breath, closing my eyes since they were beginning to tear up. "We probably never were. I was just hoping the entire time I had a friend to help me get through all this trainer business."

I had become a wuss again. And it took a swift fist across my face to make a few tears drop. I caught my head, but I fell over from shock. Rob was standing over at me, fuming.

"I don't think I ever wanted to hit a kid so hard as much as I wanted to hit you for saying all that bullshit," he murmured.

I opened my mouth to speak.

"Shut the fuck up and listen to me," he barked. "Why the hell do you assume all the goddamn time, you stupid idiot?"

I leaned back against the ground, tasting the blood on my bottom lip, hoping in the back of my head that Rob was going to prove everything I said false.

"Whenever we were in Goldenrod, I was being honest. I do see you as a brother, closer than I see Rodge. A brother. A friend. Sure, we may have gone through completely different things in life and I'm older and more experienced, but that doesn't matter."

He extended a hand out to me, smirking slightly. "Yeah, I'm a member of Team Zero, along with Nina, and maybe Alice by the end of tonight."

I looked at his hand, in a mix of disbelief and confusion. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I have my reasons, but it got nothing to do with trust and don't ever think that," he said firmly.

With that said, I took his hand and he lifted me up onto my feet. "I don't care that you're in Team Zero," I said. "I owe them my life."

He scratched his head. "Yeah well, it's not about that either. If I told you, you'd realize that I'm a huge bitch."

Rob, a whining bitch? "What do you mean?"

Rob looked off into the distance above my head, folding his arms. "You give me hope."

Those were the last words I ever expected to come from his mouth. "Say that again?"

He didn't. Instead he ran past me

"Well goddamn!" Rob clamored. "Goddamn it! Tonight just isn't my night, is it?"

"What's up?" I asked. I turned around to see what was going on.

Rob didn't have to say much. Seeing the figure of a dragon as big as a van slowly lurk in the air above the buildings was enough to petrify me too. Against the orange from all the lamps on the street and the darkness of the night, the dragon blended in, crooning its neck downward, watching the people below. It saw us for a second, but it turned its focus somewhere else, not to be bothered by our presence. It's skin was lightly colored compared to the sky, but its wings were almost as dark as shadows and two long antennae drooped from its head.

I looked back at the Dragonite, circling around in the air and wondered if I would ever see one again. Dragonite were mentioned in almost every mythological tale I knew that mentioned knights slaying beasts. A Dragonite named Crimsontooth once fell in love with this princess and a knight named Byron the Magnificent cut off its head. Outraged, Crimsontooth's family of other Dragonite started burning down villages and stuff and Byron hunted them all down, and that was what I was told as to why Dragonite are so rare. Seeing TV shows about them, close ups made them look harmless enough, but one tamer was burned down by a blast of purple fire from a Dragonite's mouth.

They were probably just rare just because a lot died out, since I doubted that one man could hunt down an entire species by himself, but for other types of dragons, there are similar myths. I often wondered if they were linked.

The one above Ecruteak was real enough however.

"It doesn't seem to mind us," I said.

"That's because we're not walking around with silver and black masks and wearing black hoodies," Rob muttered

Suddenly, the Dragonite stretched its wings, and blasted off to the east, causing paper from trashcans to go flying into the air.

"GOD DAMN IT!" Rob shouted. He took out a Pokeball from his vest and tossed it, making even more paper flutter around from the burst of energy the ball let out.

When the light cleared, Charizard stood galliantly, stretching his blue wings, taking up a good portion of the alley's width.

"Come on," Rob said to him, "we gotta catch that Dragonite and make sure it's not going after Nina."

I started to jump on also, but Rob gently pushed me off. "Nah Ed, you don't need to come with me. You get caught up and it'll probably screw you up more than what the Amber Act ever did to you."

I stood, dumbly. "What'll I do though? Will you be back?"

Rob scoffed. "Of course I'll be back. I just gotta see where that Dragonite's going and probably kick it's ass and run away with Nina at my back, apologizing once I rescue her. Girls like it when you sweep them off their feet. Bonus points if you can fly somehow too."

Again, I made a mental note without really even wanting to. "So what do I do in the meantime?"

Charizard took to the air. "What else?" Rob said, "You have an injured Pokemon. You should check him out. He probably misses you."

Nick missing me never crossed my mind. I wanted to kick myself. "You're right," I said.

Rob nodded. "Good. Just ask around where the Pokemon Center is. Also, try to get back on the main street ASAP but don't go back to that restaurant. You don't need Miranda even seeing you. Also, don't mention anything about Team Zero. I feel like Ecurteak is filled with Champions at the moment and they're all in normal clothes or just trying to fit in with the whole history thing."

I nodded back at him. "I got it."

Rob smiled. "Nice. I'll find you at the Pokemon Center, and I'll explain some more stuff to you. Now I gotta go!"

Once Charizard flexed his wings, he broke into a run down the alley and took to the air. He did a small loop over the buildings before heading east. I could hear all the tourists shouting in awe at the two soaring above.

*~*

By reading signs and asking for directions, I managed to find the Pokémon Center. A nurse there had Nick transferred over through the Box system and allowed me to see him. It relieved me to see that he was able to sit up in the bed they allowed him to have until I left. His chest, while devoid of any gunshot wound, was scarlet and shiny. The material on him seemed to stretch out to areas nowhere near his chest, like his leg and arms and the underside of his head, making it so that he couldn't turn his head properly.

The nurse explained that his whole body would be encased in the metallic substance, but he'd be okay once he got used to the changes. With that said, she returned him to his ball and put him back into my Box. She told me that I'd have to wait about two or three weeks for him to be perfectly fine.

I sat outside the Pokémon Center on a bench, and figured I'd wait for Rob. He said he'd come back for me, and I was prepared to find some room to stay just in case he didn't. There weren't a lot of trainers or anyone else for that matter around the premises either, telling me the Champions didn't really need their Pokémon to be healed and that there weren't that many trainers around.

And as if on cue, Rob came swooping down on Charizard, a bit wind-blasted and disheveled. He jumped off Charizard's back and returned him to his ball. He jogged over to me.

"Ed, I'm so sorry for leaving you like that," he apologized.

I grinned. "It's cool. I just learned about Nick. They told me he'd be fine in a couple of weeks."

Rob folded his arms, breathlessly smiling. "Oh really? That's about what the nurses told me too. That's what's up."

I nodded. Considering how many times Rob had complained over something tonight, I figured now was probably the best time to talk in case something awful and random happened to him in the next few seconds. Outside was devoid of any sort of life. In fact, it was almost scary that there were no sounds of Noctowl hooting or Kricketune chirping.

"So...about what we were talking about in the alleyway," Rob started. "You really don't mind that I'm part of...you know?"

I smiled. "You saved my life. I don't have anything against Team Zero, but if I hated them for some reason, I still wouldn't be mad at you just because you managed save my life like I said," I admitted.

Rob fixed his hair so I wouldn't have to see the bashfulness in his face.

"What I don't get," I brought up, "is why you didn't say anything and why you stuck with me all the way from Violet City to here." I chuckled. "If anything, it sounds like you were trying to kidnap me or something. Should I be afraid?"

Rob rapidly shook his head. Again, he missed my humor. I was starting to think I tried too hard to be funny. "No, not at all! I'll explain," he said.

I leaned back, getting myself relaxed to hear the answers to questions that had been bugging me for far too long.

Rob cleared his throat. "Well first off, I'm a member of," he looked around over his shoulder again, "that organization."

"We can call it 'The Organization'," I said for the benefit of us both. "Go on."

He mouthed 'Organization' and seemed satisfied with the nickname. "Well you see, the leader of the Organization figured I was responsible to handle some job he planned out for me. When he told me about it," Rob's voice got quieter, "he couldn't have been more wrong."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Rob put his hands in his pockets, like I did before. I could feel his nervousness. "Well, I consider myself a responsible person, but some things I don't really think you should ask someone to do, or at least don't ask me to do certain things."

I leaned forward, curious. "Like what?"

"Me pretty much killing -," he started bluntly. He saw my reaction. "No. I take that back. Yeah, a life or death situation but the leader of the Organization, he isn't a murderer or a hitman or anything, but this idea he had, it sounded so crazy that he actually let me go on a break so I could think it over."

"Are you on your break now?" I asked, "and how crazy was the idea?"

He nodded and continued. "Now, let's just say the leader's idea, if it were to work, would fix everything that's wrong with the nation at the moment, and even fix the whole world's problem with Pokémon, or at least what the Champions tell us about the problem."

My eyes grew wide. An end to the Amber Act? I put my hands together in anxiety.

"To my leader, the ends justify the means. Now me? I'm not even past the table of contents in whatever book he's in. So I needed time to think, he understood that, and I was off. That's a lot of pressure to put on one guy, so yeah, I needed some me-time."

I imagined his 'me-time' being about him getting into as many girls as possible.

"Now about you, Ed. When I saved you from that Skarmory, I was going to see if you wanted to join The Organization. In fact, I was going to ask if you didn't show interest in getting badges. I never did get that opportunity…"

His voice became solemn. "I made a deal with you that night. You remember?"

I shook my head. "No."

"I asked if I could hang with you while you got your badges until we reached Ecruteak while I'd help you train," he said. "Even though I was being serious, I wasn't expecting you to agree. I definitely wasn't expecting you to get three badges either."

It was my turn to be bashful. "Well, I definitely had an awesome teacher."

"I learn from the best," Rob said. "But really, I don't think you know how it feels to see something, I guess…so hopeful?"

"Hopeful?" I sucked on my bottom lip. For someone who had gave him hope, Rob sure didn't mind hitting me.

"Yeah," he said. He looked up into the starry sky.

"I don't like Champions," he said, "and I think they're weak."

He began to stare at me, his dark eyes unwavering.

"I think they're weak and pathetic, even Roger. He just has a title. He's no champion. None of them are. I used to think Abel was one but, isn't a Champion supposed to be a champion of the people? Full-blown support of the Amber Act makes you a villain. That's not a champion."

I started to see an invisible chain that linked me, Alice, and Rob together. "But I thought you wanted to be a Champion? Didn't you say that you wanted to compete in the Johto League?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but that was pretty much me trying to figure out another way to fix everything rather than resorting to the leader's plan."

I scratched my head. "Is he trying to make you-" I looked around. Nobody "-assassinate someone?"

Rob frowned. "To be honest, I'd be more comfortable with that, but no, not assassinate someone. And I can't tell you about it Ed. This is one of those things you'd be better off not knowing everything about."

I respected that, but Rob was sounding like he was involved in some critical situation, which made sense considering Team Zero's motives for ending the Amber Act.

"But yeah, to put it simply: you give me hope Ed, that perhaps there will be more trainers who can actually stand on their own feet and make a difference in their own lives. I mean look at you, you've done a complete 180 since Cherrygrove!"

"I have?"

"Yeah! You like being a trainer. You're no longer whiny, and you take care of yourself."

Rob walked up to me and grabbed my shoulders.

"You're like one of those monsters made by a freak accident from a horror movie. The Amber Act made you and now you're a beast, but do you thank the Champions for doing this to you? No, you stop the people who made you. You make them regret ever messing with you because you proved that the Amber Act can make trainers, but when the ultimate trainer turns on them, they're ruined."

I lit up. "You think I could be that good? You think I could be an ultimate trainer?"

Rob chuckled. "Could? Ed, you already are! You are, Alice is, and every other trainer who takes their fate and…" He searched around for the right words, and then he snapped his fingers at an epiphany, "and throws it over their shoulder! Yeah, that's the best way to put it I think! You don't let it bog you down, but you keep standing tall and strong, like a real champion!"

Despite how corny he was sounding, his words touched me. Every doubt I had in the past about getting my eight badges or my future seemed to just wash away. Yes, I was a tool. I was an instrument of catching and domesticating Pokémon in order to keep them from harming humans. But Rob made me see that there was nothing wrong with that, and to accept it if I wanted to, but to hold on tightly if I did.

Everything just seemed brighter. Even Riley was miles away, under some random rock, probably in the backyard of my parent's house as far away as they were.

"Wow, Rob, was this what Nina wanted you to tell me?" I asked.

He groaned. "Ugh, why'd you mention her? No, she actually thought I was going to ask you to join Tea-I mean The Organization. Alice is on her way to get suited up right now I think. That or still shooting the breeze with Miranda for whatever reason."

"Alice probably figured out she was a Champion somehow," I guessed. "But yeah, you're not going to recruit me?" I asked, surprised.

Rob started to curl his feet to the sides against the concrete. "No, I'm not. But if you decide to join, the leader might try and make you an apprentice also, since you actually enjoy being a trainer."

And with that moment, I began to seriously consider joining Team Zero. Given the chance to become a better trainer along with fighting the Amber Act sounded like a godsend.

"You want to head to the gym now?" Rob asked. "I didn't want you to go without me since I wanted to talk to you about all this first. I needed to let you know my whole take. If you would've gone by yourself, I know for sure they'd try to pressure you into joining or just kick you out on your ass."

That was a legit reason enough for me. "Sure," I said, "I want to see if June and Shox can get the fourth badge together."

Rob rubbed his chin. "I don't think you can win with just two Pokemon, but I'm sure you can get some special rules if you explain what happened to your other two Pokemon."

He sucked his teeth. "Damn, I forgot to teach you how to fight ghosts too. And you don't have a Psychic Pokemon either."

Rob was starting to doubt me. I wasn't used to that. "You think I can't do it with June and Shox?"

"Not with June, no," he said. "Shox is just one Pokemon though. Unless he doesn't go four-part or more, probably."

In other words, my chances were slim. And I didn't feel like having Shox not being fully usable anytime soon like the rest of my Pokemon.

Rob gave his goofy smile. "Don't worry, let's head to the gym and get some sleep. We can stay there for free. Tomorrow, we'll go ghost hunting!"

And that was the plan. With that, I got up and left with Rob, back into the Ecruteak limits.


	25. Chapter XXV: Zero

_Alright, so here's Chapter 25! Since it's summer, I have a lot more time to get chapters out so hopefully I'll get a bunch of the story done before school starts up again._

_I'm also going to start responding to every reviewer I can, thanking them and asking for help. I've already messaged some of you. Check your inboxes and hit me back up! :D_

_And more one thing, if you have anything you'd like to say about the story, like it's boring, or you like it, or it's bad...anything...just click the button at the bottom and send a word or two in a review! That stats page says I have WAY more visitors than reviews, so if you even click on this page, review it! Say it's stupid and boring or something!_

_This chapter didn't take too long to do since I knew where I wanted to go with it and had a lot of time on my hands. Chapter 26 should be out pretty soon as well. Part 1's about to end and Part 2's going to begin, and let me just say, I've been spending most of my time thinking about Part 2 and what happens in it! And who knows what might even happen after Part 2? ;-)_

_-I've added more to the conclusion to this chapter. It will provide a better lead-in into Chapter 26, which I have started working on right now._

_-I've reuploaded an edited version. The previous version was rife with errors and repeating words, along with horrible wording. I hope that didn't turn off some people _._

_Now's the moment to talk about an issue I have I guess... Anyone know when a good time to edit would be? I tend to write these chapters, glance over them, change a few things, and then upload them. I just spent the last few hours reading and editing it. I couldn't believe how many errors there were. It annoys me that this happens and it simply kills me that the previous chapters are full of them. Perhaps that's why there's so few reviews for Pokemon 0. I dunno._

_And as far as the low review count goes, I wouldn't mind more but reviews aren't really my driving force for completing it. I know that this story is too far from the norm on . I know what the norm for is, and it was what made me not visit the site for years._

_Or perhaps the story is just bad. I can't tell :/._

_Anyway, try and enjoy! Read! Review!_

* * *

_"I'm still not convinced that you can stop Murr from getting to you. We think he has absorbed that Pokémon 0 from the attack on the Trainer Graveyard, south of Johto."_

_[Let me correct you. He has absorbed it.]_

_"So you think you could've stood up to that Pokémon 0 back then? The one that could've easily glassed Indigo Plateau, and then probably Ever Grande City, and then probably everything else if it wanted to?"_

_[Yes. Yes I know I could. You are confusing Murr's power with that Pokémon 0's power and you keep trying to overrate how strong Murr is now. The Pokémon 0 back then could only kill. Somewhere in its head, or even less likely, its heart, it probably wanted to do more with its short life like explore the world since it could fly, and perhaps even find someone or something to love. But for all intents and purposes, it was a simple being. An animal. A giant animal that was an abomination of a Legendary and of nature._

_[Murr is a rational being. Murr wants revenge and Murr has the means of enacting it. Murr is classified as a Pokémon 0 as well. Murr is not an animal. You do-]_

_"I'm not even trying to say they're the same! I'm saying that Murr is using the thing and will probably come after you! Now, I came here for your help, but I'll go on and tell you that I'm here to possibly try to help you. Probably get you out of here because you're just a sitting duck in a cave. If Murr gets any Legendaries, his power will increase off the charts. Exponentially. Now because you're so goddamn high and fucking mighty, you count as a Legendary. He gets you, it might be all over for us! And if you want to be a stuck up, mushroom eating bitch about it, you might have to kill me here and now because I'm **not** going to have your dumbass risk the lives of my friends and family and everyone else in the four regions just because you think humans are worthless and Murr doesn't care about you! Either you come with me, I catch you, or you die here. Make your choice because I'm not afraid of you. I feel like that Pokémon 0 back then could've torn you to pieces."_

_[Well human, make your peace, for I will not spare any mercy I have. You have become a nuisance, disturbing my rest in my abode.]_

_And then the most ironic thing happened. Me and Mewtwo were going at it, and then a ton of Steelix bust through the cave floor, going straight after Mewtwo. He tore a few of them in half, and actually tried to throw their pieces at me._

_I knew why the Steelix came. I hauled myself out of there. And then, of all the people and Pokémon I could've ran into in the cave, I ran into Murr just standing there waiting for Mewtwo to come this way for me. I had never seen him up close, only in pictures, but light was being reflected off of a nearby river, light from cracks above. And yes, he didn't have his bandages on. I think he was in the middle of transformation, because everything looked like him from old photos, except his mouth. He grew lips and his teeth were contorted from the changing. He was one ugly, sinister looking motherfucker. He was like a vampire that could probably open his entire jaw._

_"You can run," he said. "I'm not here for you. I'm here for my child and it seems he's throwing a tantrum."_

_And with that, I ran and I didn't look back. I'm not ashamed of my choice either. Handling Mewtwo alone was enough. I wasn't about to fight both at the same time, or possibly Murr with Mewtwo's strength added on._

_...  
_  
_Mewtwo (part 6/6)_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter XXV: Zero**

After leaving the Pokémon Center, Rob and I went back into the busy streets of Ecruteak and bought some cheap tacos since Rob wanted to be meager. We figured we could chill before going to the Gym, so we posted up against a wall, ate, and watched a parade go by. The parade was giving homage to Legendaries. A troupe of ballet dancers leapt and stepped lightly down the street dressed in three different costumes. The ones in the light blue, shining leotards represented Articuno, the ones in yellow with the black feathers under the arms represented Zapdos, and the ones in orange with long strips of red and yellow paper flowing from a hat represented Moltres.

Then ten men came by hoisting a black model of the serpentine Rayquaza with mist coming out of its gaping mouth. They were followed by other men carrying models of Groudon and Kyogre.

Ecruteak was celebrating the Autumnal Equinox. Only Ecruteak did something since it wasn't a national holiday. All I knew was that the day was about spirits passing back and forth through planes of existences. Ecruteak went all out with its parades and tourism for the holiday for some reason. I knew it was religious, but it didn't get kids excused absences.

So Rob led me to the Ecruteak gym. The shops and buildings gradually became small houses spread apart by gnarled trees and empty yards. Then everything became slightly freaky when I noticed we were the only signs of life outside. The wind seemed to whistle louder as the night grew darker and more ominous.

"Usually there'd be ghosts here," Rob said, "but they're all around the tourists. Ghosts are attracted to other ghosts and lots of life."

Everyone grows up wondering if ghosts of people exist since Ghost Pokémon exist. Though Ghost Pokémon were scary enough by themselves, the thought of a human's ghost scared a lot more people, frightened enough to religiously give reverence to dead people.

"Rob, do you believe in ghosts? Like when a person dies?" I asked.

"Yeah, I do," he said. "I haven't seen any but if Pokémon can become ghosts, I always guessed people could too. Probably in the same way Pokémon turn to ghosts."

Some of my favorite times with Rob were when he was teaching me stuff. "How do dead Pokémon turn to ghosts?"

To my surprise, he didn't respond immediately. He furrowed his brow in thought, and then finally spoke. "The leader can tell you. He can explain it better than me since he is a Ghost Pokémon master."

Rob didn't have any Ghost Pokémon as far as I knew. "If he's a Ghost Pokémon master, why are you his apprentice when you have other types of Pokémon?"

"Everyone asks me that," Rob pointed out. "He still has to raise and train his ghosts. You train different types of Pokémon in different ways but before you can start doing different things, you gotta get the fundamentals down. All trainers start from the fundamentals, and then go from there."

I got the feeling he understated something. "Just the fundamentals?"

Rob nodded. "Yeah, like learning to trust your Pokémon and teaching them to trust you. Stuff like that."

Wow, if that's a fundamental lesson then I'm probably better off than I imagined, I thought. But then I realized June's condition contradicted that completely.

Then Rob's tone changed from conversational to quiet, serious, and self-reflective. "I think I'm talking too much about him. I promised myself that I wouldn't influence you in any way about joining Team Zero."

"It's cool," I assured. Learning from a master sounded very nice, but selling myself to a whole group didn't bode with me. I was fine with Team Zero, but I never had interest in joining them. I wanted them to achieve their goal to end the Amber Act, but I didn't want to be part of them. It was like supporting a country and not wanting to join its army. I think I didn't want to get in trouble or get hurt.

"So back in Goldenrod, Nina told me she told you about her dad," Rob said. "You can put two and two together, in case you forgot it when she told you."

I didn't forget. Due to the logic, if Rob's master was the leader of Team Zero and the gym leader of the Ecruteak gym, and Nina's dad was the gym leader of the same gym, then that meant…

I needed to be sure. "She's the leader's daughter?"

"Yep," Rob he said. "Not biological though. I don't think he ever had kids."

Nina was right on the field with other Team Zero members, so I guessed Team Zero's leader didn't cut his own family slack.

"She might not look it, but Nina's a pretty powerful person," Rob admired quietly. "She's strong, smart, takes care of herself, and looks after a bunch of younger members. She handles her Pokémon in a very awesome way too, like graceful or somethin'."

The only two Pokémon I ever saw with Nina were a Honchkrow in her apartment in Goldenrod and the Beldum that danced around Alice. "What other Pokémon does she have? I didn't even think she was a trainer."

Two Kriketune in a tree chirped in rhythm of each other. When I searched around to find where they were, I ended up gazing at the stars. The Ecruteak lights were gone, so I could see the Ursaring Constellation. Its nose was the brightest star, and was said to lead anyone back home.

"Nina's not a Trainer," Rob said. "She focuses too much on school. But she does have a ton of Beldum she does all sorts of crazy things with. She can have them fuse together to make a bunch of Metagross or have all the Metagross to fuse to make something crazy like a spaceship or a cannon."

He curled his brow in thought. "Well, not a spaceship, but she can make cannons."

"Wow, I'll have to see it to believe it," I said. Nina having Pokémon like that would've gotten her some badges easily. And I wanted to see how her Pokémon could do something that cool.

A few more minutes passed and we had finally reached the gym, which was just another dome shaped building though it didn't have a pristine look, making it more similar to Jim's and Chloe's. Three young boys were outside the door playing hacky sack.

One of the kids, a bald boy with a shiny large head with dimples, saw Rob and tossed the small sack over his shoulder. He and the others came up to us.

The ball, however, stayed in place in the air for a few seconds, and then dropped. It floated back into the air and dropped again. Rob and the kids didn't even notice it as they greeted each other. I was wondering if my mind was gone and lost watching it.

Reality returned. I took out my PokéDex and held it out in front of the sack, which was being thrown against the wall of the gym and sliding down the rounded side. A small purple cloud-like being with a large head with wavy wisps of purple and pink hair appeared on the screen.

_"Misdreavus. It frightens people with a creepy, sobbing cry or by appearing suddenly. The Pokémon apparently uses its red spheres to absorb the fearful feelings of foes and turn them into nutrition."_

When I looked up from my PokéDex, two large red and yellow eyes were inches from mine, staring. I jumped back from the shock, nearly tripping over myself. The bald kid grabbed my arm to keep me from falling down, laughing with his friends.

"Hee hee, don't be scared! He just foolin'," he said with a drawl. "Look'it."

The Misdreavus made an eerie chirp as he giggled, or at least what I figured was giggling. He seemed to take scaring me funny. The red orbs around its wide neck blinked faintly until he stopped laughing. Then he floated straight to the sack, picked it up with his mouth and twirled it.

"I gave it to him, Rob," one of the boys said, a tall, lanky and pasty one with a large overbite. His greasy brown hair grew over his eyes. "All he does is have it scaring everybody. He even tried scaring Zero with it but Zero got him back good."

"Yeah, Young Johnny got scared out of his pants," the third boy said, a rotund one with a double chin and glasses. He spoke with a sort of lisp. "Zero ended up having his Dusknoir lurk around Johnny for a whole day but nobody could see it. Matt said he saw him but he's lying."

Young Johnny dropped his good humor and shook a fist at the fat kid. "He didn't scare me! I could see the Dusknoir. Richie, you're lying! Don't believe him Rob! Don't believe Matt either! Herbie and I don't go around scaring people."

Rob chuckled calmly at them. "Ehh, well whatever happened, we just know that Herbie seems to like to have fun. And you know what? That's okay cause ghosts like to have fun in general, right?"

All three nodded. "Yeah!"

"Good," Rob said. "Now no more calling each other liars and stop pulling pranks if you do them already, and if you haven't started, don't. Now me and my friend here gotta go inside. We still have the normal password schedule going?"

"Yup," Matt said, moving some of the hair away from one light green eye to look up at Rob. "No emergencies or anything."

"Good," Rob said again. "Well don't stay out here too long. Curfew's close. Now if you'll excuse me and my friend here…"

The three boys watched me as we entered the gym, probably wondering who I was and why I was with Rob.

Inside, everything looked liked what I had pictured a Ghost Pokémon Gym to be like minus a random graveyard somewhere inside. Somehow with metallic torches sticking from the ground, the lamps managed to illuminate the entire sandy floor with orange flames while keeping the ceiling pitch dark. Looking up made me feel like I stepped into a zone in the center of twilight itself.

White chalk outlined several paths that lead to different directions, and I couldn't see where they went because of all the shadows around. The effect made no sense to me. It was like a dim spotlight was above me following me around. I stuck close to Rob who was fine with his surroundings.

Strangely enough, there were no sounds of trainers battling their Pokémon, roars, or ghastly cackles. We'd run into a group of trainers chatting with each other, but no one was training. Some had their Pokémon out, ranging from a small purple haze that I recognized as a Ghastly and more Misdreavus.

"Down here," Rob said. We were in front of a Pokémon Arena dug into the ground, like the one in the Violet City's Gym. The bleachers were made of wood instead of concrete and torches were in the center of every few steps down.

When Rob got down to the end, he hopped off the bleachers and went to the center of the arena. I had to let myself hang off since the arena was too deep and I didn't see any stairs to it. I dropped down and went over to Rob. He was staring at the ground.

He used his boot to kick some sand aside. And then again. A dark, metallic, surface revealed itself underneath.

"Now what was the password again? For emergency lockdown?" He asked himself.

"Inez?" He asked aloud. Nothing happened. Two teenagers, a guy and a girl, walked along the bleachers together, holding hands. Where was the Gym Leader? I wondered.

"Eliaphe? Narzel? Tiamenon?"

The sand began to move. Rob had said the magic word. Two large slabs of metal lifted at an incline. A door. It opened slowly by some unknown force, sand sliding off the slabs. I figured it was a very expensive voice recognition system or a Ghost Pokémon. Chances were the latter.

The metal doors revealed a wide staircase leading down to a fluorescent lit hallway, lined with strips of flower-patterned wallpaper that hid the rocky underground walls.

"Is this Team Zero's base?" I asked. As secretive as Team Zero made itself out to be, I never figured the entrance would be so sketch and cheap.

"Not quite, but it leads to it," Rob said, going down inside. "Let's go."

I followed him inside and the doors started to close themselves behind us. The hinges made a loud creaking, screeching sound, sand dripping from the cracks. Then there was a sound of a bolt fastening.

"One or two of Zero's Pokémon manage the trap door," Rob said. "You gotta get their name right so they'll let you in."

I turned around again, not seeing any trace of a Pokémon. How could fight something you couldn't see? Getting the fourth badge was more and more unlikely. Catching a ghost Pokémon was incomprehensible.

"How can you even catch Ghost Pokémon?" I asked, following Rob down the narrow chamber. Dangling light bulbs lit up segments of the hall. I swore I could see the end of it. But then I saw it was a sharp turn maybe leading down another underground hall. I didn't get why someone bothered putting cheap wallpaper up. The pattern of tiny gold bouquets messed with my judgment of distance. The hall could've went on forever.

"You catch them like you catch any other Pokémon," Rob answered. "You weaken them and you throw a ball at them."

"But they're ghosts though," I said. "The ball would fly right through them wouldn't it?"

"That's why you weaken them like I said," he explained. "Ask Zero about it since he'll give you a better answer, but it has to do with the material Poké Balls have in them. They gotta concentrate on letting a Poké Ball pass through them. And even when you distract them and actually get them inside a ball, they can still bust out if they're strong enough."

From what Gavin lectured about Domini Stones in Goldenrod, it sounded rational. I kept my other questions to myself. I didn't want to bug Rob too much.

The hallway took a bend, and then another. After a surprising ten minutes of walking in a line, I heard many voices echo from up ahead. Some actually sung along with acoustic guitars, laughing.

"Sounds almost too fun," Rob observed.

We stepped out of the hallway and into a square, concrete chamber lined with many stairs and doors. The room was almost the size of a normal Pokémon Gym, filled with kids, teenagers, and young adults mingling, dancing, drinking, and having all sorts of fun like a family barbeque. Some wore the distinct black hoodie with the hood down. Others looked like ordinary people. An acoustic guitar was in the air, played by an invisible musician. Rob had to drag me away since I was frozen in awe for too long.

He lead me to the stairs, people were greeting him from all around.

"You're gonna stay now or what?"

"Where in the world have you been? I heard you made some of the Syndicate even madder at us than they were already."

"Tryin' to work out after the big day?"

Rob was pretty popular with everyone, except for some of the younger ones who wondered why everyone treated him special. He managed to respond to everyone addressing him, all with a genuine smile impressively.

We reached the stairs. When we climbed them halfway, Rob put two fingers in his mouth and let out a harsh whistle, a talent I can't do even to this day. Then he ran up to the top, carefully avoiding people who he irritated by making their ears ring.

I followed him up into another large room. However, this one was ornate with seven wall scrolls hanging over sixty feet long. All of them depicted a slender woman with a painted, white face with a purple blush wearing a vibrant red kimono. At their sides sat all of the evolutions of the Eevee species and each woman's eyes matched the color of the Pokemon: red, yellow, blue, purple, black, light blue, and green. The Eevee evolutions were each shown nursing a single tiny Eevee.

"The way the ink's done is amazing," I said in awe. "Rob, is this really the Team Zero base? This is like a mansion!"

Numerous paper lanterns hung from stone rafters above, bathing the room in a lazy orange, making everything reflect it radiantly. The wall scrolls looked like they were sewn from several crystals linked together. The wood floor we stood on seemed to shine as if it was glossy and smoothed out. There were even women walking around who looked just like the ones in the scrolls and the room made them elegant and beautiful, like they had stepped from old Fiorian times.

"Rob, where are we? Why are they wearing kimonos?" I asked.

He couldn't answer because he was preoccupied with a litter of twelve Eevee so bundled together, they looked like a moving brown and white rug. All of them were simultaneously trying to jump up at him, hoisting themselves up on his leg and barely coming up to his knees. They squeaked and barked at him, wagging their bushy white tails.

I knelt next to them, and about five started sniffing me. "These are all your Eevee?"

"Uh-huh," Rob said, pulling out a Poké Ball, activating it, and letting out Umbreon. All of the Eevee immediately gathered around her legs. She lied down and started licking one.

Rob looked around the room. "They have a dad somewhere. He sleeps all the time so you'd think he was a lazy good-for-nothin'. But he always makes sure they don't go too far from him. Or at least I thought. Where is he?"

One of the ladies in the room happened to go by us, keeping herself with a large green paper fan. Both Rob and my eyes locked onto her curvy behind.

"Excuse me Miss," Rob addressed. "Have you seen my Glaceon around here? His kids are running wild."

He gestured a hand to his Eevee, who had all decided to take a liking to me, jumping onto my leg and panting.

"Your Glaceon is in The Master's quarters, Young Master," she said in a cool, clean voice. She could've been the voice of a PokeDex.

Rob nodded with a bashful grin. "Thank you, but you don't have to call me Young Master. Just call me Rob."

The lady smiled wider at him, then at me with her red lips stretching thin. And then she walked away like nobody said anything to her.

Rob frowned, looked at me frowning, and then we both watched her go. I wondered how old she was to even look that good.

"Well, I'll try again some other time," he said, undefeated. "Let's go visit Zero."

Umbreon walked off to a corner with her kids and I followed Rob up another flight of stairs, inside the wall. We entered the upper level which was smaller than the one under it. Mostly except cots spread out. Others had people resting in them, mainly young kids with dirtied, torn clothes.

"These are the recruits?" I asked.

"Yeah," Rob said, leading me around the cots to the other side of the room around. We climbed more stairs and entered a hallway with paper lanterns on the wall. At the end stood a wooden door with patches of light stretching out from underneath it. Shadows moved across the patches and I could hear faint voices inside, but the noise from the floors below made understanding them difficult.

"I wonder if he'd put his room even higher up if there were any more floors," Rob thought aloud.

"Why?" I asked.

Rob went on ahead and opened the door, sticking his head through it. Inside was brightly lit with electricity, and I could see the top of someone's head with white, matted hair.

He spoke with the room's occupants, and then pulled his head out and closed the door.

"Well Alice's in there," Rob said, folding his arms and looking up at a lamp. The flame behind the paper flickered.

Alice probably ran straight to talk to Zero when she arrived. "About being an apprentice, huh?"

"Yeah," Rob responded. He came back and leaned against the wall. "She's very anxious to be a Champion, ain't she?"

"Yeah, she is, but I think she has a good reason," I lied. I really didn't know what was going on with her. Then I wondered how long she thought it would take her to become a Champion.

"She told you what happened?" Rob asked, surprised. I shook my head.

"Well Nina told me back when we were in Goldenrod," he said. "Yeah, I know, I didn't say anything about Alice but Nina didn't mention her real name then. When you told me about her, I didn't think you two were talking about the same person."

"What happened to her?" I asked, ignoring this was Alice's business and that she was in the next room.

"I kind of told you already back at the inn," Rob said. His tone became flat as he said what I had been suspecting the entire time. "She was raped." He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Poor girl."

Being thirteen, I couldn't really comprehend how major it was. From everything I had learned about sex, the only way sex could hurt was if it was painful. I knew some people got off to that stuff from porn ads I'd seen online. Sex equaled pleasure. Being forced to have sex, I immaturely drew the conclusion that Alice had to have been pleasured as well. Perhaps, I thought, she just didn't like being used similar to how I hated being forced to be a trainer for the Pokemon League. Nobody liked being embarrassed. The only comparison I could draw was imagining taking a leak in front of someone. Embarrassing? Yes. Comforting? Of course.

But there had to be more. For one, Alice wasn't flirty. She seemed just like any other girl I knew. Liked boys, weird humor, and on the plus side, she didn't come across as someone _too girlish._ All cool girls were never too girlish.

Then I realized I couldn't picture her having sex. I imagined having sex with her, but I couldn't see her like I saw Felicity and Nina. Alice was Alice, a girl I sort of had a crush on. I enjoyed glancing at her in front of me sometimes and imagining her naked, yet I liked looking at her face still. I wanted her to get rid of her contacts and dye. Her face was too bright for brown eyes and hair. Her lips were too pink and full for to not have sex or to be kissed a lot. I wanted to taste her lips. I had never been kissed before and I wanted her to be my first. And then I wanted to have sex with her. I wanted sex.

Now, not to break away from the story too much, but since I'm writing about myself and the stuff I put in my journal every now and then, I must tell you that I'd eventually hate myself for thinking about all this. Even though I want to disregard it since I was a kid going through puberty, I must say that I'm sorry, to Alice and to everyone else. I was young and stupid.

"Don't tell her or Nina that I told you. Don't tell anyone," Rob demanded.

I nodded, slightly absorbed in my own thoughts. "I promise."

The door swung open, getting our attention. Alice stepped out, wearing a black, unzipped hoodie and a tearstained face, followed by a tall, skinny man with grey hair coming from his receding scalp line to the top of his shoulders. His nose was pointed with significance and his eyes seemed to glow from how light blue they were. He wore a grey vest with matching slacks and a white dress shirt.

Alice stomped over to me, breathing hard and softly hiccupping. I stepped back afraid she was going to hit me for no reason. Did she hear us talking about her?

"Ed," she growled inhumanely, voice cracking. Her eyes were narrow, but then she turned her head back to see the man, and her breathing calmed.

Looking at her after thinking about all that stuff disturbed me and made me feel guilty and vulnerable. We stood in front of each other, and I stared at her shoes. Her boots were gone and replaced with black sneakers. Why the hell was she so stupid? I thought. Why was she acting so weird? I didn't know how she was stupid exactly, but that's how I wanted to describe her.

"Are you going to join Team Zero?" she interrogated. If she had a gun, I would've thought she was threatening me.

I blinked at her. "I don't know," I answered.

She nodded her head over to the man. "Zero said that I can get a badge from him if I beat you in a duel."

That took me off guard. "What? Why?" I stammered.

She looked away and shrugged, sniffling. She barged her way past me and Rob and headed down the stairs.

"And I'm assuming you're Ed?" The man said in a deep, scholarly voice. He held out a slender hand with a large gold studded ring with a wing-shaped emblem.

"I'm Victor Frost, Ghost Pokemon Master," he said.

I shook it. "I'm Ed Willow."

"Zero, what was all that about?" Rob asked, confused and agitated. "Why'd you tell Alice to fight him for the badge and why is she crying?"

Victor Frost was Zero. "So you're the leader of Team Zero?" I asked thoughtlessly, aggravated at how Alice approached me.

He smiled and nodded. "Indeed I am. You can call me Zero if you wish."

I looked over at Rob to tell me what to call him, but he was upset, ignoring me.

"Rob, we're on a tight schedule," Zero said. "If I could, I'd organize a fight with her against myself or any of my subordinates but I can't risk it. And after what she told me, perhaps going up against Ed would prove to kill a few Pidgey with one stone."

Rob settled down. "What did she tell you?"

A hazy purple cloud began to materialize behind Zero. "The same thing you told Ed, except in greater detail."

The cloud condensed into a figure. And then an abnormally large and toothy grin emerged in the middle of it, followed piercing sinister red eyes above it. They seemed to stare at me, so I looked away. Ghosts were naturally creepy.

"How long has he been out here eavesdropping?" Rob asked.

"I always keep Narzel outside my door to keep watch," he said, "just like how I keep Tiamenon or Bureg at the trap door in the gym."

Zero seemed to have his Ghost Pokemon everywhere, invisible. I started wondering how much having a ghost Pokemon would benefit me. From what Rob said, Zero could hear us through his Pokémon.

"I overheard you tell Ed what happened," Zero said, his voice smooth while carrying a hint of disappointment. "She only believes two people know about her situation, Nina and I. You're going to have to do your best to make sure she continues believing that."

Rob sank, defeated. "I'm going to have to."

Zero slightly chuckled. "Good. But don't worry, both of you. I feel that, with time, Alice will become a better person with a healthier view on things. She will definitely become a trainer who makes a difference in the future."

Rob put his hands to his sides. "So now she's part of Team Zero?"

Zero nodded. "And also one of my apprentices. She has the passion for being a trainer, and even though her methods are a bit questionable and sometimes morbid and irrational, she has that spark all good trainers have. She just needs some refinement."

The purple, smiling ghost managed to pop out a pair of small, stubby arms and similar legs. I expected it to start walking, but it floated into Zero's quarters.

The ghost went in and out came a small, four-legged Pokémon with light-blue, thin fur. The hair above its eyes was a darker turquoise than the rest of its body, save for the feet and patches on the back and tail. The dark hair puffed out a little bit, and then dropped down below the head, becoming a darker blue the lower the hair got.

"So there's Glaceon," Rob said. He knelt and petted the Pokémon, who yawned and nuzzled his hand.

"I don't know if he's annoyed by his kids or what," Zero explained, "but he's been sleeping up here for the past few days. Which is odd since I've had my fireplace running nonstop."

Rob got up and Glaceon bounded down the stairs. "Is Nahindelon feeding him? He tends to stay around wherever food comes easiest."

Both had their hands to their chins. "I was just thinking the same thing," Zero said.

It was that moment that I noticed both of them had the same, mop-like hair, except Rob's was black and Zero's was old and grey.

Zero sighed. "Well, at any rate, I want to talk with Ed here."

Rob became adamant. "Talk about what?"

Zero smirked. "Well…everything I guess. I'm really curious about him and his potential. Also, I feel like he deserves to be told more."

Hearing Rob suck his teeth told me a certain someone had entered the picture somehow. "So what did Nina say?"

Zero chuckled. "Rob, you've become quite nosy running around Johto and Kanto."

He gave me a friendly look. "Say Ed, how about you go inside and take a seat at the table with the deck of cards and the coffee pot? Do you know how to play poker?"

That was a random question. "No sir, I don't."

Zero laughed heartily. His laugh was slow, but heavy. "He's even more polite than you Rob. Ed, don't call me sir. We're both Pokémon Trainers. I may be a Master but if you want to respect me, just paying attention to me will suffice."

His attitude played my strings the right way. I didn't completely trust him, but something inside told me I could like him at least.

"Will I end up coming out of there crying like Alice?" I asked, half genuine.

Zero shook his head. "I doubt it. I just showed Alice something about herself she needed to see, considering her goals."

I couldn't for the life of me figure out what he wanted to talk about. Was it his way of glorifying recruitment?

"If you're going to try and recruit Ed, at least be fair about it and not butter up stuff," Rob said flatly.

Zero, for once, looked ashamed, frowning. "Are you mad at me?"

"No, but I…" Rob trailed off. Then he took a breath. "Talk to him like we talk. I feel like you can help him, but I also think Ed could help himself if he really wanted to."

Zero nodded softly and smiled. "Without having to read your mind, I think I understand what's going on. You have my word."

Rob let out a sigh of relief. "Good." He turned his attention at me. "I'll be downstairs checking out the wall scrolls."

With that said, he left.

Zero scoffed. "More like stalking the ladies who take care of this place."

We shared our first laugh. He held his arm out toward his quarters' door in a polite manner and I went in.

Two things struck me the moment I entered. The second was that quarters weren't a bedroom, but more like a den with doors that most likely lead to bedrooms and a bathroom. Shelves of books lined the walls and spaces left opened housed strange objects: a tooth the size of a basketball, a glistening silver wing, and a tall white urn. A chandelier with pointed light bulbs hung above a circular, ornate wooden table with four chairs. Two chairs across the table from each other were set out.

The first thing that struck me, however, were all the cards floating in the air. Some were just floating in cycles. Others were floating together, as if on an invisible stand and stabled together.

Zero closed the door behind us. "Now go take a seat. They'll start their game over since they all love playing against humans. They think we're easy."

I stared at him, and then back at the cards to make sure what I was seeing was real, and then back at him, utterly confused.

He chuckled at my expression. "Don't worry, they don't cheat. They are the best tricksters but they're noble. Now let's show you the rules of the game."

When I sat down, some of the floating cards moved out of the way. The smiling purple ghost materialized right next to me, floating upside down looking at his hand of cards.

Zero sat down across the table from me. "You want to shuffle Ed?"

The course of events that lead to this moment was logical enough. Playing poker with the leader of Team Zero and his ghost Pokemon didn't. And it wasn't that I hadn't gotten used to ghost Pokemon. I just couldn't understand cards. Why cards?

"No, but why are we playing cards?" I asked innocently. "This seems so random. And how can Pokemon play cards?"

"Well, I figured a game would loosen the mood while we have our talk," Zero said. "And Pokémon can do everything a human can do. Now, everyone hand me your cards so I can deal."

Some of the airborne cards were thrown onto the table, while other hands were banged against the table to be in a nice and neat pile, and then handed to Zero.

I think I was having a hard time because this removed me from my own reality. I had never been around ghost Pokemon before, yet I knew they existed. I had seen horror movies where they hunted and killed people and TV documentaries on them, but to sit down and play cards with them blew my mind.

I took out my PokeDex. Zero waved a hand, beckoning me to put it away.

"You don't need that," he said. "PokeDex given to trainers are too basic. Two or three sentences don't do a Pokemon justice."

I reluctantly closed my faithful PokeDex, saddened by him insulting it.

He pointed over to the smiling ghost. "The current Pokemon around you are a Gengar, Narzel, who refuses to use his legs."

The Gengar winked at me and chuckled silently.

He shuffled the cards. "A Mismagus named Eliaphe, a Dusknoir named Aven, a Spirtomb named Vulesi, and Bureg - a Banette. Tiamenon is a Frosslass but she's at the gym keeping track on the door."

I had no idea what the Pokemon he mentioned were but I nodded still.

He shuffled and passed five cards out in seven piles for everyone at the table. Five of the piles were swooped up into the air. Zero put the deck in the middle of the table, grabbed his hand, and I reached awkwardly out for mine.

I had the ace of spades, ace of hearts, five of diamonds, two of diamonds, and a seven of clubs.

"Now," started Zero drawing a card, "let us talk about what you know what's wrong with the world today."

And that started our conversation and our game.

* * *

_How was that? A ton of dialogue in this chapter, right? I don't know if 26 will be too different from it, but you can expect a battle between Ed and Alice, as handicapped as he is. Might be a bit one-sided right? Ha!_

_I will admit, I was sort of disturbed by how I wrote Ed's thoughts when he's told that Alice was raped. Rape is a serious, unfortunate matter, but a kid who hasn't experienced such trauma really doesn't have the right idea about it. Especially a boy who's in the middle of puberty. Ed grows up, thankfully. He'll be more mature in later chapters._

_Anyway, review!  
_


	26. Chapter XXVI: The Relinquished Champion

_Hey guys! Here's Chapter 26, in within about a week from Chapter 25! I'm trying to make up for lost time in the summer. Even though I'm in Summer School, things should be running smoothly. Unfortunately the italics are messed up in the chapter, so I may have to reupload it._

_**U**_**_pdate: Fixed the italics and some errors!  
_**

_And woohoo! 70 reviews! I honestly didn't think this fic would even reach much past 50 considering how unpopular I am lol. If you submitted a review, thank you! Just seeing that number go up makes me feel like I'm actually writing something that people are reading. Sure, it has a lot of chapters and most fics would have about 300 or 400, but I'm sort of...writing for a particular group of people...people who don't mind this crazy view on Pokemon! Hahahaha!_

_Read this chapter? Then review it! Tell me what you thought about it! I'm going to respond to people who review Pokemon 0...I haven't gotten around to the reviews for Chapter 25 since I've been busy. I'm going to try and do it tomorrow._

_But yeah, read! Then tell me what you think in a review!  
_

* * *

_Arcea, the Pokemon 0 country, is situated in the bottom half of the Western Ocean, sixty miles southwest of Fiorre. Taking up only 3,200 kilometers and formerly housing 2.5 million Pokemon 0, it was considered hazardously dense. This is most likely due to the Pokemon 0 never leaving the island to colonize outside areas. The Pokemon 0 managed to build cities, have an economy based on personal goods and services, and devised an organized transportation system using Pokemon 376 (Metagross)._

_The Pokemon 0 isolated themselves and would repel people away from its shores. Any plane flying across it would be promptly chased away by Pokemon 0 riding Pokemon 376. Satellites were ineffective because of the high concentration of Pokemon 376 interfering with the light waves hitting the island (Search: Beldum Hive Mind)._

_In the thirty-sixth year of the ninety-forth Cycle, the Pokemon League sent Sinnoh Champions Issac Tatinov and Gorbachova Krawczyk, Hoenn Champion Austin Movelli, and Kanto Champion Walter Dirks. Proposing that they be let in to investigate how exactly the Pokemon 0 were using Pokemon 376, the Pokemon 0 killed them (Search: Olast's Taunt)._

_The Pokemon League retaliated by sending 682 Champions, each under the Unlimited License. _

* * *

**Chapter XXVI: The Relinquished Champion**

My hand was the ace of spades, ace of hearts, five of diamonds, two of diamonds, and a seven of clubs. The pair of aces was something. Pairs were always important in card games.

Zero plucked the cards in his hand and reorganized them. "We'll play a basic game. You can only throw out two cards and draw two cards. Deuces are wild. And Ed, you start us off. We go clockwise."

The ghosts reordered their cards. They had probably been waiting to hear the rules. Since twos were wild, I had three aces. I threw away my seven of clubs and drew a king of hearts. Then I threw away my five and drew a four of diamonds.

"Dammit," I said without thinking. My hand shot to my mouth to cover it.

Zero laughed. "Don't worry. You can curse like a sailor if you want. You're a trainer."

The invisible ghosts next to me threw out cards and drew some. Zero kept his cards. The remaining ghosts threw out cards and drew.

"Now everyone shows their hand, and we see who has the best combination of cards," Zero explained.

The airborne cards were placed on the table. I put my hand down and looked at everybody else's. The hand to Zero's right had a three, four, five, six, and seven of spades. That was obviously better than my three of a kind, so I put my cards together and put them near the center. Everyone else, including Zero who didn't show his hand, did the same.

"So you know that a straight flush is better than a three of a kind?" Zero asked. "That's good. Aven wins this time."

He shuffled. "Why don't you all show yourselves? I'm sure Ed will feel more secure knowing you all aren't looking at each other's hand."

The winner appeared first and I almost fell out of my chair when he did. The ghost had the tone of a muscular man, but covered with brown cloth. Instead of a stomach, there was a void area. Strips of cloth hung over it, making the area look like a giant sinister, fanged mouth. Aven's head was a small cylinder tower on the planet that was his body, with a single large yellow glaring eye. His hands could've crushed a grown man's neck easily.

Next to him, sitting on the table was a ghost with a small humanoid body. Its eyes were pink with red pupils. A smile was stretched across his face like the Gengar's, but the teeth were golden and a zipper hung at the side. The ears on either side of his head were pointed downward and a yellow brushy tail flopped on the table like a duster.

Zero saw me staring at the ghost. "That's Bureg, a Banette. The one next to him is Eliaphe, my Mismagius and the two to your right are Narzel the Gengar and Vulesi the Spiritomb. The winner was Aven, my Dusknoir."

Eliaphe's body reminded me of a purple, closed umbrella. She was about as tall as Bureg, but her neck was craned and crooked. Her head was almost hidden underneath a large, witch hat that was made from the same material as her skin was. Trying to touch it wasn't an option, even if I could actually touch the ghost. The name 'Mismagius' told me that this was what Misdreavus turned into, and both Pokémon shared the same yellow and red eyes.

To my right, Narzel was floating on his back with a smile even though he had lost. A really happy Pokémon. Then I noticed how big he was. Narzel was almost as tall as me but his face took up his entire body, like a sinister smiley face. Between his pointed ears and behind his head, dark purple spikes stood scattered like hair.

Vulesi, however, had no comprehensible figure like the rest. He was a pink cloud swirling around itself. Small green bubbles floated inside him, but some would merge together and make brief, blurry, face-like image. A dark round object was inside the cloud.

"Is there something in him…her?" I asked, pointing to Vulesi. The ghost didn't respond.

"He has a keystone inside him," Zero answered. "All Spiritomb are bound to keystones."

Rob _did_ say to talk to Zero about ghosts. "Why?"

Zero shuffled and dealt cards to everyone. "Spiritomb are made up of hundreds of human and Pokémon souls. When the souls are bound to an object, they form together to make a sentient being, a Spiritomb."

Something sparked inside of me. I ignored throwing away cards and drawing any. "So humans and Pokémon make up Spiritomb? How rare are they?"

"Pretty rare," Zero said, sorting through his hand.

"How do you even make one? How do they live?" I asked.

Zero chuckled. "Well, you can _make _one like any other Pokémon is made: by breeding. But sometimes they just come into existence when there's a lot of souls wandering around and there's an object all of the souls are 'connected' to."

"Connected?"

He nodded. "Imagine a town with a decent population. For the sake of being overly dark and melancholy, let's say the town burned down, blew up, flooded, or anything catastrophic you can think of."

I sort of grasped the idea. "And everyone dies?"

He nodded. "Everyone dies in the town. Their souls leave their bodies and are now out in the open. Souls need some sort of shell to exist or else they simply vanish, so they bind to each other. And since the souls have memories of the former town, they all bind themselves to some inanimate object, like a street sign, a statue, or like in Vulesi, a stone."

He leaned back and threw his hand down, revealing three fives and two fours, winning the game. The ghosts and I gave him our cards and he shuffled again. "But, that's all if you believe in the soul and whatnot. Forgive me for speaking that way. I'm not even a religious person and I'm not trying to make you believe certain philosophies are true. For all we know, Spiritomb have always been around and breed normally, not by having intercourse with another Spiritomb and splitting their souls up to make new Spiritomb."

The last bit of his words confused me. "Do you believe in the soul?"

"Yes I do," he said. "Do you?"

I shrugged. "Why not?"

He smiled and dealt again. "You and I will get along fine. You have anything else you want to ask me? About my Pokémon, Team Zero, Rob, or anything?"

My new hand had a three of hearts, seven of clubs, king of clubs, five of diamonds, and an ace of spades. Worthless. I threw out the five and seven and drew a five of hearts and a two of clubs. I put my hand down. That's what people did when they just had bad hands, I figured.

"Well, I do have a lot I want to know, but it might annoy you," I said.

Zero laughed breathlessly. "It's fine. You deserve explanations. Ask me anything."

I pushed my cards to the center of the table. "I think I just want to sit down and listen," I said. "A lot of stuff's been buggin' me."

"Like?" Zero asked. He took the cards, shuffled the deck, and dealt hands to himself and his ghosts.

I folded my arms and leaned over the table. "I know the Amber Act was made 'cause a bunch of Gyarados killed some people. How long will the Act last? Shouldn't there be enough trainers to keep enough Pokémon under control?"

Zero pinched his chin as he examined his cards. "'Some people' is an understatement, Ed. More than twenty-five thousand people were killed in Vermillion City fifty years ago, around the middle of the ninety-third Cycle."  
_  
Way to undermine a tragedy, you dumbass_, I chastised myself. My head sunk lower, listening closely to Zero explain the beginning of all the nonsense that started my journey.

"Champions were called in to kill all of the Gyarados. I was about your age at the time. The extermination lasted about a week. Some of it was on live TV. Gyarados were scaled alive. Others had their teeth and eyes removed before getting decapitated."

Zero solemnly shook his head. "Terrible display of anger."

Vulesi the Spiritomb won a game and everyone put their cards in the deck. Zero shuffled and dealt. "So after that, the government started talking amongst itself. We live in a powerful country, but the fact that Pokémon could do so much damage internally made a lot of people scared. People got scared for all sorts of reasons, thinking that any other country could come in with Pokémon and destroy everything."

"But what about the Pokémon League?" I asked.

"The Pokémon League was its own thing back then, ran by rich and powerful fraternities who can be linked back to the medieval times. Pokémon training was just a national pastime then. The Pokémon League could afford national coverage for all of its tournaments, and people were so into watching the games back then. But once all of the Gyarados in Vermillion Bay were killed, an Act was passed that assimilated the Pokémon League into the country's defense bureau."

Zero threw down his hand. A nine, ten, queen, jack, and king of diamonds. The ghosts slung their cards to the middle of the table.

"The Amber Act is covered in history classes isn't it, Ed?" Zero asked. "I shouldn't be telling you anything new."

"Nope," I answered. "I've never heard any of this."

Zero rubbed his chin. "Do you read the paper or watch the news?"

I shook my head, "Not at all."

He curled his grey brow in thought. "You'll have to get on those then. Can't have you not knowing what's going on in the world."

A new game started. "So let me continue. The Amber Act marked the beginning of when the Pokémon League would be government controlled. This is how it's possible for kids to be taken from their homes and to become trainers."

Learning about who ran the Pokémon League was new; the animosity in me toward the Amber Act still felt the same.

"But the Amber Act is fifty years old," I said. "How many Pokémon do trainers have to catch so it'll go away?"

Zero sighed tiredly. "It's a problem that hasn't been fixed yet. And nobody really knows how much the Amber Act has progressed things, if it has at all. All we've seen are kids being thrown out and murders sanctioned by the Pokémon League."

"Isn't the problem with the Pokémon population?" I asked.

"Not just that, but that's all Champions talk about. It's also with the population of people on the planet. When those Gyarados attacked Vermillion City, it became apparent that humans and Pokémon were running out of space to coexist peacefully. So creating trainers was the League's solution. Trained, captured Pokémon will not attack their trainers or when they're inside a Poké ball. Dead Pokémon can't hurt anyone either."

The reason why the Amber Act wasn't covered in history books made sense. Teaching kids about it would be scaring them into doing well in school. Or would that have been a good thing?

_'If I did know about it, would I have done better school and not have to be a trainer?'_ I thought. When I failed my math class for the first time, my parents took my TV and what small number of video games I had away. They told me to do better or else, without ever saying what that 'else' was. Dad said Gavin used to want to be a trainer, so it made sense for my parents to not tell me about the Amber Act. They probably thought I'd want to be one too. Then what the hell was Dad's problem?

"Why would parents get mad at their kid for being forced to be a trainer?" I asked pitifully. "When we got the news, dad hated me. He thinks I'm worthless, and what gets me the most is that I don't know why. If that's what the Amber Act is all about, then…"

I cut myself short. The conversation wasn't about my family. "Sorry. Nevermind."

Zero put his cards down in concern. "Issues with your family? Your dad became angry at you for being a trainer?"

The day that letter came by the house was the first time I ever felt like Dad was going to punch me. "Yeah, he got _really_ angry. My mom was like a zombie."

I sighed and my head sank. "It was like they gave up on me."

Zero stared at me for a minute before getting up. "You all can play. Ed and I are going to have ourselves a drink. Come on, Ed."

I stood up and went with Zero to his bookshelves. Two brown leather seats faced each other across a small glass table. Next to it was a red, wooden box. Zero sat down and opened it, revealing a bottle buried in ice.

"Sit," he said. I sat and watched him take the bottle out and open a compartment on the box where small glasses were. He took some ice, dropped it in the glass, and poured a drink. He took a sip.

"Now, your father got angry at you and your mother was apathetic?" He asked.

I shook my head. "Mom cared. She definitely cared, but it's just that I figured she'd do something. In fact, I don't know why they did nothing. They're my parents. There was no fuss against me being a trainer or anything."

My old frustration started to wake up. Zero must've saw my inner anguish, because he was holding out a drink in front of me.

"Here. It's bourbon," he said. "I'm not good with tears and I'd rather not have a repeat with what happened with Alice when she was in here. No offense, but sadness and I do not mix."

I took the glass and stared at it, smiling. "It's okay. I don't really cry anymore. I got that out of my system early. The last time I cried, I had seen something that sort of messed with my head. It was a kid getting killed by his own dog."

Zero winced and took another sip. "Horrible. You're talking about when you were kidnapped, correct?"

"Yeah," I said, recalling all the blood sprinkling everywhere. I still couldn't believe it really happened. My disbelief hid the memory in the back of my head, even if I knew it was real.

_[Yes, now I remember you. Willow.]_

I snapped my head around. A psychic Pokémon. "Who said that?"

The entrance door opened. A creature stepped in, hunched over like an old man, with long antennae running from the sides of its snout to inches above the ground like an ancient moustache. Its skin was a pale pink and its purple eyes were fixated on me. Wearing a black cloak, it pointed a long, bony finger at me from inside its baggy sleeve.

_[You are the kid that Berelli and young Turner saved in Goldenrod.]_

The grand and masculine telepathic voice in my head was recognizable. As he said, he was there when Team Zero rescued me.

He scuffled over to us, walking on large feet with two wide toes. He held out a hand with four long, bony fingers.  
_  
[My name is Nahindelon.]_

Him not blinking weirded me out. Awkwardly, I shook his hand. Nahindelon's fingers wrapped around my fist completely, shaking my entire arm.

"I'm Ed," I said, trying to be polite.

_[I already know who you are, Willow. It is nice to see you again. You are healthy.]_

I nodded my head, mumbling "Yep." I looked over at Zero, who was finishing his drink like nothing happened.

_[Frost, I am going to go to sleep now. I have gotten my fresh air and I did not encounter anyone else.]  
_  
"Good," Zero said, setting his glass on the ice box. "Get some rest. You, Rob, and I will have to get going after the Johto members are settled in Sinnoh."

Nahindelon nodded his large head. His feline ears twitched, standing straight and tall with skin pointing upward on the tips._ [So be it. Goodnight, both of you.]_

He stepped his way to one of the doors in the room and went inside.

I looked down at my bourbon. The glass was ice cold and I had never tasted alcohol before. However, now was probably the best time to drink, especially after playing Poker with ghosts, learning about the Amber Act in detail, and meeting a random psychic.

I took a sip and swallowed. The cool liquid burned all the way down to my stomach, tasting like something burnt, yet sweet.

My face soured up. Zero laughed. "You didn't have to drink it. Did seeing an Arcean make you want to do it?"

"An Arcean?" I managed to get out. "I thought the champions killed them all."

Zero shook his head glumly. "May as well have. A few were captured and forced to work on Poké Ball tech and Domini Stones. Nahindelon and a few others managed to escape, but only Nahindelon is with me."

Determined to get used to the taste, I let another sip of bourbon burn by insides. "I never heard about that, I don't think."

A sneer went across the side of Zero's face. "That's because you don't pay attention to the news. You're going to have to work on that to get anywhere in this world."

He got the bottle out the box and poured himself another drink. "But yeah, Nahindelon is an Arcean. One of the few on this planet, and he's being hunted as a fugitive. On top of that, he's pretty old and he can't reproduce."

I poked the ice in my glass. "Why can't he reproduce?" I asked.

Zero took a sip. "Because the Champions only captured the men in the villages, and then castrated them all. The women were all killed during the invasion."

A few seconds passed before I comprehended the impact of not being able to have children. _Holy shit_, I thought. A chill ran through me, not related to the alcohol. I sat my drink down on the ice box.

"Arcea was attacked because of the Amber Act, right?" I asked somberly.

"By the first and foremost reason of the Amber Act, yes," he answered. "The Amber Act is purely a statement saying that all threatening Pokémon must be handled. It doesn't matter if the Pokémon are killed or if a kid is forced to be a trainer to catch any Pokémon, since any Pokémon can be a threat untrained."

He finished off his drink and put the glass on the table. "It's a stupid act. An entire race of people didn't have to be killed off. Arceans aren't Pokémon, so the Amber Act managed to be a proponent of racism. Genocide. The Pokémon League's stupidity is limitless."

I just had to ask. "You were in Arcea? During the invasion?"

Zero sunk back in his chair, eyes downcast behind his glasses. "Indeed I was and it's not something I share all the time. Going into detail makes me feel like a monster."

My curiosity got the better of me. "I'm sorry. Forget I asked."

Zero chuckled lightly. "It's fine. I made you talk about your family problems a little bit. It wouldn't be fair to not share what stirs around in my head. It's just that I managed to take a lot of lives while managing to lose some very close friends of mine in the process."

He looked over at the ghost Pokémon at the table. They were still playing Poker.

"All my original Pokémon got killed. I managed to get into a fight with an Arcean and he killed all of my Pokémon. The ghosts you see here are the culmination of my former party's spirits, or at least I believe so. I taught my old Pokémon how to play poker. These ghosts were followed me all the way back to Indigo Plateau when they were young, and already knew how to play poker."

A string of pity was pulled inside me for Zero. Even though he didn't go into detail, the thought of having all my Pokémon die hit me hard. Nick was thankfully recovering and my Nidorino even got some of my love too as new as he was. I never pictured Shox dying, and June was the one who could probably fight death itself. But who was I kidding? They were mortal. We all were mortal.

"The Champions were sent to Arcea because the Arceans had always sheltered themselves from human contact," Zero explained. "Few travelers were let in if they weren't sent away, but nobody ever had any pictures or videos, just stories about how the Arceans had technology based around Metagross. Since Metagross are known to have some of the highest IQs, the Pokémon League interpreted this as a possible threat against the country and sent Champions to see what exactly they were using Metagross for."

"The Pokémon League sent Champions? Was the League expecting to barge in?" I asked.

"Pretty much," Zero replied. "The League wanted to see how Arcea would retaliate when the Champions used force to get in. The Champions were killed, and that started the invasion. Arcea was considered a Pokémon-related threat against the country, so every Champion at the time was sent in. It took a month to claim Arcea, and then it took three months to kill all of the people."

In his chair, Zero looked old and worn. The wrinkles in his face were more visible than when I played poker with him. Perhaps it was his attitude? He didn't act like a generic old person, but talking about the Invasion on Arcea distraught him.

"To be honest, I let the captured Arceans escape," Zero said. "The ones who didn't make it were either killed or captured again. The ones who made it out went in separate ways. All of them are hiding. However, Nahindelon stayed with me because we had been talking while he was in captivity."

He managed a weak smile. "He and I are the founders of Team Zero. Both of us are trying to fix what the Pokémon League and the government did. If anything, I guess you can say that I want revenge."

The word 'revenge' didn't match with my image of Zero. "Revenge for what?"

Zero looked over at his ghost Pokémon again. They had put the cards up and were floating around, through the ceiling and walls, minding their own business.

"Being in Arcea made a lot of Champions question their humanity," he simply said. "Some of us, like me, left. Others stayed because they genuinely thought killing an entire race of people was a stride toward fixing the balance of population. Then there were some that held on to whatever hope they had left, thinking that, somehow, things would turn out just fine, even if they had to become murderers in the process. Like they could take the sins of helping the world out so things would be better."

His light blue eyes glistened from being unfocused. Zero was lost in his own mind, remembering times long ago. Seeing him made me wonder how it was like being sent to another country to kill everyone in it.

Zero blinked himself out of his trance. He smirked. "Charlie Abel was my first apprentice. He went with me, both of us sent in Arcea, and he managed to put his heart aside to do his duty. He knew he would be in a mental wreck if he sympathized."

He closed his eyes and shook his head softly. "When he did that, I knew he didn't need me anymore." He sighed. "And as it turns out, he's the most determined in stopping Team Zero, which is why he's always leading operations to try and stop me. He is the reason why Champions have been everywhere in Johto hunting for Team Zero members. And he is also the reason why I must get the members out of Johto. Within a week, all of the Johto Team Zero members will be in Sinnoh."

Having hundreds of teenagers take a ship would be too conspicuous. "How are you going to do that?"

"Easy!" He said. "Teleportation! Fastest way to travel, even if it might not be the most comfortable! Considering that the Champion threat hit fast, it would've taken too long to gradually get members out. Abel got _too_ good."

He stood up and stretched lazily. "I'm sorry Ed. It seems that I wore your ears out."

I couldn't believe he thought that. He managed to make me wonder about where the world was going. I cursed myself for being so ignorant about the world around me. And most of all, I felt my apathy drift away, replaced with bold determination.

"Don't say that," I told him. "I'm glad you talked to me. As weird as it may sound, I think I needed to hear you. You actually helped me get my head clear."

Zero folded his arms. "Is that so? Well I'm glad, Ed. I'm glad that you have clarity."

His ghost Pokémon floated up through the ceiling, following each other.

"Where're they going?" I asked.

"To sleep. They always sleep at the same time," he said. "You should get some rest too. You look worn. Since you're with Rob and you're not a recruit, you can get a spare bunk with the members in the basement. Also, get ready to fight Alice, whenever she wants to do it."

I nodded in acknowledgement. "But how did that whole thing get set up? Why do I have to fight Alice so she can get a badge?"

He patted my shoulder. "I don't have the time to organize a gym leader battle for her or you. Since you both want badges, you can fight one another. Whoever wins gets the badge. And don't worry about only having two Pokémon, she'll only have two to use also. You'll get to pick which ones randomly."

Relief swept through me, but I still felt my odds were horrible. "I guess that's fine. But why don't you just give us both badges? Or just give me one since I'm forced to be a trainer."

Zero smiled. "I don't give handouts, Ed. Everyone has to work. If anything, I'd give Alice a badge since she's part of Team Zero now, and look at how I'm treating her!"

He laughed and I didn't share his humor. He showed me out of the room. "See you later, Ed. Get a good rest. I hope the fight tomorrow will be exciting to see!"

With that, I was out in the lantern-lit hallway by myself. I made my way down the stairs to find Rob, feeling heavy from my first drops of alcohol and sleepiness. Zero's words managed to keep playing in my head. Then I was frustrated.

Rob was in the basement, chilling on the steps watching all of the members below go by. Umbreon and Glaceon were laying with each other on the top step, asleep.

"Wow, you look sleepy," he said. "What you two talk about?"

"A lot and a half," I mused. "I'm kind of mad though."

Rob raised an eyebrow. "About what? Zero didn't say anything about making you join, did he?"

I shook my head. "Nah, not that. It's just that, I think I want to find a newspaper and read it. I feel extremely stupid right now."

Rob scratched his head. "That's weird."

"What? That I want to read a newspaper?"

"No," he said. "It's weird that you feel extremely stupid. After what happened earlier today, I'm surprised you're just feeling that right now. If you needed to know if you were extremely stupid, you could've just asked."

He laughed at his own joke. I winced at amount of loserdom I was seeing.

"Rob, why are you so lame?" I asked.

* * *

_Yeah, straight dialogue. Writing it didn't take too long though since I've had these details about Team Zero and Arcea since I started writing Pokemon 0._

_Now I'm trying to figure out what to call the next chapter...The Fog Badge? Ed vs Alice? Vs Alice? I gotta think of something._

_But anyway, you see that button at the bottom of your screen? Click it and tell me what you thought! I'd really appreciate it!  
_


	27. Chapter XXVII: Alice and The Fog Badge

_Sorry! I got caught up these past two weeks with schoolwork and other issues, but I finally finished 27! I actually wrote it some time ago, but I hated it, so I redid it. This is_ _the second version_ _and admittedly it took longer than the previous version to write._

_Even though I don't do shoutouts normally, I feel like this needed attention._

_TwentyPoundsOfCrazy managed to do something I never thought anyone would do...make fanart of Pokemon 0._

_ http : / hawkfeather4 . deviantart . com / art / Scyther-is-evolving-168034413_

_I don't think I've ever felt so tickled on . Thank you very very very very VERY much :) And on top of that, I also got tons of really good reviews! So please, everyone checking this story out...REVIEW IT! Hit that little button on the bottom of the page if you want more people to read it! They're not going to check it out otherwise _._

* * *

_"I've been on the force for eight years and I still hate working with whoever the Pokemon League sends over. They do their own thing and we, the law, do ours. But when someone manages to piss off both the law and the League, everything just becomes childish. Champions think they can second-guess detectives on every little thing, giving us shit if we don't consider whatever's on their mind. Excuse me, but it's my job to find things out! Most Champions are overpayed zookeepers I think, and having them even thinking they can give me an opinion on an investigation is fucking insulting._

_"That one murder five years back where Team Zero and the Rocket Syndicate were the involved parties? I wasn't working it since I was only a pup, but all my colleagues hated it. It ended up growing into a major case headed by Detective Lydell, Dennis Lydell, and fortunately, it cracked open. We put the bracelets on some targets we'd been hunting for a while, and some unfortunately got killed. Nobody got away though._

_"I still hate Champions though, but luckily the brass doesn't have to deal with Ambers."_

_-Detective Reggie Mildunis_

* * *

_**Chapter XXVII: Alice and The Fog Badge**_

Rob showed me where Team Zero men slept: a long corridor in the basement lined with doors to many bedrooms. He found me an empty one. Inside was concrete and vacant except for two sets of bunk beds. Then he left me to go to his own room down the hall (he made sure to brag about how apprentices get their own rooms.)

Sleep was great. Best sleep I got since being at the inn outside the National Park. Having to duel Alice didn't bother me at all. I only had two Pokémon and knew that she'd beat me. However, I wasn't going to give up and have her bug me about it. What happened in Cherrygrove didn't need to repeat itself.

The next morning, Rob woke me up to take me to the Pokémon Center. This was when I learned we had been inside the Burned Tower of Ecruteak the entire time. Standing outside in the moist, chilly air made looking at it depressing. The top half was gone. Charred wood remained, but apparently the 'new roof' was sealed off to make the place a museum. Even though the place was currently open, few visitors went inside.

After a quick glance, Rob said it was time to go. Zero told him to have me ready to fight Alice around noon.

He figured I'd stand a chance if Nick was healthy. Unfortunately, Nick had some complications grafting the metal coat to his exoskeleton. The doctors had to remove some of the coat and drug Nick so the process could begin where it left off. The nurses kept me from visiting because of possible contaminants from the surgery. At first I was upset, but they told me it happened all the time to Scizor. So we moved onto the next order of business: letting the nurses do whatever to my Nidorino for the next few hours to make him ready to get in the ring.

Rob took the opportunity to use the Trainer PC. "Yo Ed, you ever get on these things?"

I got up from my waiting chair and stood next to him. The Trainer PC was a metallic-colored desktop computer hooked up in a notch in the wall. The monitor was a large touchscreen and the keyboard was a thin strip of metal with small white keys. Next to it was a warp device for Poke Balls, the same kind the nurses used behind the desks in all Pokémon Centers.

Rob was on a screen with a bunch of tiny, cute models of Pokémon all lined up on a grassy background. He poked one that represented a Magneton and dragged it with his finger down to a circle labeled WITHDRAW.

The Poké Ball device started churning and flashing. With a bright flash from inside its container, the device was now holding a Poké Ball. Rob opened the glass and put the Poké Ball in the brown leather coat he sported. The weather was getting too cold for the both of us, so he gave me a spare black hoodie. Passing eyes would get curious, but the hoodie didn't have anything Team Zero on it. The masks were what Team Zero was known for. Everyone wears black.

He grabbed three Pokémon on screen with his fingers and dragged them into the Withdraw circle. A queue popped up. At the top was Gyarados, followed by Steelix and a Pokémon labeled Claydol. This was the first time I'd seen Rob dealing with a full party of Pokémon. He already had Charizard and Umbreon out.

After he was done, he stepped away from the PC. He swept his hand gracefully over it like it was a brand new car.

My nostrils felt moist. I rubbed under my nose. "I don't have enough Pokémon to have a full party. My box is empty."

Rob frowned when I didn't care about sharing his toy.

"You don't got any items from someone?" he asked as if I made some mistake. "People can put items in your box. Check this out."

Beside the computer station, a steel cabinet was installed in the wall. A warning sticker on the left door warned about keeping the device closed when not in use. Another warned against sending money. The ink on the bills and the material of the coins prevented teleportation.

Rob roughly explained how the machine worked and beckoned me over to it. I stood on my toes to see the keyboard.

The screen flashed, and then ENTER POKEDEX in white, blocky lettering scrolled across the screen. I reached around my backside and took my Dex out my pocket. A convenient vertical slot with a flap was next to the keyboard, and my Dex slid in perfectly. The screen flashed again.

My ID showed up with a menu, listing 'Box Operations', 'Item Storage', and 'Contact Designated P. Prof'.

"'P. Prof?'" I asked Rob. "That means Pokémon Professor? I can talk to Gavin through this?"

Rob was posted on a wall, checking out the better looking nurses who walked by. "Yeah. I don't talk to mine unless there's an emergency. I like to keep hush-hush since…you know."

I recalled Gavin mentioning this feature. But then I remembered he said he left me something in my Item Box. I poked 'Item Storage' and the screen took me to a bunch of empty lines going down a window. At the top, 'Moon Stone', 'Potion x20', 'Super Potion x10', 'FABRIC x?', and 'DEVON REG. DEVICE x1'. The items were highlighted in orange. At the corner of the highlight, the word 'PACKAGE' hung all alone.

Rob leaned over my shoulder and anxiously got his face in the monitor. "Oh shit, a moon stone? You got connections like that?"

"I ought to use this computer to thank him," I said. I dragged all of the items into the withdraw circle on the bottom of the screen. A blue loading bar popped up, underneath saying 'Processing…' Then the blue bar filled and restarted, saying 'Transferring to Pkmn Center…'

The wall around the PC grumbled like a hidden washing machine, and then there was a musical chime.

Rob opened the cabinet doors. "Dinner's done!" he sang.

A sugary, burning smell flowed out the compartment. A lonesome cardboard box sat inside, close to the back wall. When I reached in to grab it, the skin on my hand touched the metal flooring, delivering a shock slightly more intense than normal static. My hand shot back on instinct.

Rob stifled a small laugh. "Trainers get to use the PCs for free. I always figured the shocks were the Pokémon League's way of sayin' 'Don't get too comfortable,' you know?"

I looked at him and he shrugged. Not a bad point, I thought.

I reached in again and pulled the box out, then set it on the floor. Tearing the duct tape off, I opened the flaps more wary than someone should be when they receive mail from family. Everything inside was wrapped snugly in towels. No bubble wrap meant no distraction for a good ten minutes. I pulled out a box and removed its towel. I undid its latch and was rewarded thirty vials of potion all lined up six by five. The bottom ten were red. A spray device was in its own small box taped to the underside of the lid. Underneath the potion container were some new folded clothes. I took out a red vial and held it up to the light from the ceiling. The stuff could've cured cancer for all I knew, being red as life itself.

Then I took everything else out. Gavin got me a few sweaters, a jacket, underwear, t-shirts, and more pants. And then I saw he got me some sort of touch-screen cellphone, and a magenta crystal with uneven edges.

"That phone and the moon stone is twenty grand by themselves. Benefits of being a professor's family, right!" He jovially patted my shoulder. "Let Nina hold your phone. She can mod it. Get you free calls, games, the works…"

At the time, I thought people only modded cars. "Sure. I'll keep it in the box then. Sure looks fancy."

Based off the picture on the box, the phone was simply a thin, black sheet of glossy rectangular material. Fanciest thing I've gotten outside a video game console and a single game.

"Poketech Omni," I read aloud from the side of the box. "State of the art social device...fulfills every trainer's 'communicating' needs."

Rob huffed indignantly. "Hmph. I'll stick with payphones and Beldum. Someone might steal it if you keep it out. That or be a trainer and fight you for it. Dudes with eight badges fought me for less."

I imagined Rob getting in an epic six-v-six battle over a stale slice of bread, but he had a point. My badges were always hidden. There were too many desperate people in the routes and stealing eight badges was freedom. The phone started to be a bargaining chip more than a necessity.

I put the phone back and took out the moon stone. A small spherical object inside reflected light into a little perfectly round beam that hit the floor. This was Nidorino's gift.

"How do you use this?" I asked Rob.

Rob didn't answer. He had stepped away toward a mute TV bolted to the ceiling. The news was on and the weatherman was being a mime against a map of Johto.

I packed my box up and held it under an arm. I went to his side to watch the weather with him. A huge yellow and red blob stretched over Ecruteak again and again.

I sighed. "Rain." I looked up at him, seeing his mouthing hanging open and his eyes wide.

An insecure laugh escaped me. "What's up, Rob?"

He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he closed his mouth with a stiff upper lip and took a loud breath through his nose. "Read the ticker when it starts again."

"You see that?" some lady said from behind us. Nurse probably.

"Yeah," an older man said. "We're finally getting progress. About time the Champions did some good."

The ticker began with a header about the channel, and then it was followed by a statement from the Department of Human Resources.

"'Number of trainers in all four regions down by twelve percent,'" I read out. I felt a bit elated at the news. Less trainers meant less people in a possible hell.

Rob didn't take the news as positively though. He cursed under his breath, still watching the screen.

"Hey Ed," he finally said, just barely loud enough for me to hear with everyone else chatting. "Get your Nidorino. We gotta get to the gym."

I raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Sure, but aren't you happy about the news? A twelve percent decrease is good."

He ignored me, raking a hand through his hair and scratching his head. Rob's eyes dropped from the TV. "I'll tell you on the way. Just get your Pokémon and come on."

The sun glazed over the plastic ribbons tied to telephone poles and buildings. The sky was in a cloudless grey state, as if it was solemnly watching what was preparing to happen to the planet's people and Pokémon. Meanwhile, paperboys threw newspapers from their bikes into stoops. Storeowners swept the confetti and dropped popcorn off their welcoming mats. The day was about to start in Ecruteak.

For the first time in days, I let June walk with me. Letting her out meant I had to watch her. She knew I couldn't trust her. I knew she could do anything. Yet, she didn't. Standing as high up to my chest, she strolled alongside me like she never tried to blow my brother up. However, her arms swung lankily with each step. Her muscle mass had decreased from not being trained. She was skinnier.

We were walking to a losing fight, given our circumstances. I thought about forfeiting and letting Alice get her badge, but for June's sake, I had to lose. And then, there was the slight chance that we'd win that kept me from asking Rob to tell Zero I give up. A fourth badge meant I was halfway done with being a Trainer. Or really, four badges away from deciding if I wanted to stay a Trainer or not.

Rob nabbed a newspaper off a townhouse's porch and read along the way, explaining the trainer decrease. He avoided talking directly about Team Zero as we walked by people on the sidewalks.

"So you think someone's kidnapping trainers?" I summarized.

Rob shoved the newspaper into my chest. "Unless kids are getting smarter in school, yeah," he growled. "Seven percent's like…what? Close to two or three hundred thousand out of some big ass number."

I opened up the newspaper. June got under my arm like she was curious to read also.

* * *

_**Department of Human Resources: 7% drop in trainer population**_

_**Reporter: Amelia Kesolij**_

_WEDNESDAY – The Department of Human Resources posted the annual statistics on the four regions last night. The report stated the total of Pokémon Trainers within Johto, Kanto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh was 852,244. This figure is 7.02 percent smaller than last year's 991,901. Pokémon League Kanto Champion Commander Felix Farut says, "[This] is part of the natural decline of trainers. More are becoming Rangers. Others are collecting eight badges. Both are doing a superb job on controlling the Pokémon population. We can…"_

* * *

I took my eyes off the article to look at Rob, wondering what the big deal was. He sighed and shook his head, covering his face with his hands and sliding them down. "Ed, I'm telling you. It's just wrong, man. It's just wrong."

I rolled up the paper. June reached out for it, so I gave it to her. Rolling it up and holding it like a baton, smoke started seeping through the top. I snatched it away from her and slammed it on the ground, stomping and hopping wildly on it to prevent any flames. June folded her arms and looked at me with her beady emerald eyes. I could sense the rebellion.

I kicked the paper into a storm drain. "'Ha ha ha' funny," I muttered to her. June shrugged and ran to catch up with Rob, who ignored my display of fighting fire.

From the neighborhood we were in, it took about half an hour to reach the outskirts of the city. Look back at it, I could see the Tin Tower standing tall compared to its burnt, smaller sister.

Soon, we reached the gym.

* * *

"So, you ready?" Rob asked.

The three of us stood outside staring at the gym in its empty lot. I had gotten used to seeing Gyms and knew I'd see at least four more. June cracked her knuckles and popped her neck. She was ready without me having to say a thing.

Rob winced and laughed at the sounds of June's bones. "Goddamn she's awesome. We do be cracking our knuckles and popping our necks a lot."

Forcing myself to ignore what she did to Gavin, I rubbed June's neck. The fine silky yellow feathers warmed my cold, ashy hand. Relief flowed through me knowing June allowed me to touch her still.

Rob put his hands in his pockets, furrowing his eyebrows and smirking. "Hey Ed, if you don't get the badge, whatchya gonna do?"

Never losing a gym badge fight yet, Rob put a good thought in my head. "I guess I'd come back. Fight again."

Rob paced a bit. "Can't do that. Zero said this is the last day he'll have the gym up. After you and Alice fight, he's shuttin' the doors until the League sends the new leader." Rob chuckled lightly. "Victor Frost's 'legally' gone now."

"The League will think something's up, won't they?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Nah, 'cause the person that'll be here? Zero picked him. He's gonna run the gym clean and nice. It's just Victor Frost won't be the gym leader here anymore. It's been planned for months now."

I nodded in approval, letting the conversation die. My attention went back to looking at the gym, and imagining June stomping Alice's Pokémon. June could do anything, I thought. Hopefully, I didn't mess up by letting June get wild on me. I didn't even know if she'd listen to me.

She walked on ahead and Rob went along. Swallowing my wandering thoughts, I followed. We entered and were welcomed with giant dangling ceiling lights revealing cardboard boxes stacked near the entrance. The torches had been pulled out the ground and in a neat pile next to an office door. In the center, trainers and Team Zero members without their disguise sat in the bleachers around the main ring. All of them were looking back at us, chatting with each other. Zero stood up, wearing what looked like an open pitch black robe.

"About time you got here!" He shouted. "We've spent the last two or three hours watchin' some new kids practice using their Pokémon. Come on in and show us a real fight! Alice's waiting!"

On cue, she stood up next to him and waved, wearing her black hoodie. And then a familiar face got up beside her, also wearing a long black robe. His braids were gone, but Darius still had his narrow head. Except now, his hair was in dark puffy ponytail. He grinned ear to ear.

I ran up to them with June close behind me. Darius gave me a friendly nudge on the shoulder.

"What's up, bro? I know that huge yellow thing behind you ain't that Torchic, is it?" he asked.

"You know each other?" Alice asked. Her Poké Ball belt was lying on the floor in front of her seat.

Darius said it before I could get the words out my mouth. "Most definitely. Alice, me and Ed went through some crazy shit outside of Azalea. You'd never believe what we stirred up."

He put an arm around me, grinning madly. "So you ended up joining Team Zero, huh? Hell yeah!"

I rolled my eyes laughed under my breath. "Nah, it's cold outside and my friend Rob gave it to me." I turned my head around to call him over but he wasn't with me. Instead he was talking to Nina and another familiar face near the entrance. He still wore his blue beanie, along with a plain white sweater looking inconspicuous. He had the same ghastly pale skin as before, along with the dark five o'clock shadow. No doubt he had that same pistol on him. He pulled it out when he came to save me back in Goldenrod. He stood between Rob and Nina, probably making sure the two didn't rip each other's throat out as they talked.

"They're just talking business," Zero said reassuringly. "Rob will be back here cheering along with everyone else."

I was fixated on his coat. Close up, it was unnatural to see. No kind of thread and wasn't made out of leather. The coat was just a smooth sheet of violet almost pitch black. Being next to it gave me the awkward feeling you get when you're standing close to someone, like it was alive. June climbed some bleachers to get away from the thing.

Zero saw me checking out his coat and he pulled on his sleeve. "Making clothes is the first lesson in assimilating with Ghost Pokémon," he said coolly. "You can feel Narzel's presence."

"Yeah!" Darius butted in. He smugly popped the collar to his similar coat, except his lacked any sort of wrinkle. "Zero's teaching me how to use Ghost Pokémon. This right here's a Haunter!"

"You mean like fur coats and Feraligatr skin?" I asked.

Zero shook his head like a patient teacher. "No, Ed. Ghost Pokémon can't die. You're looking at a Gengar who just so happens to look like a coat."

I thought about it for a good second, and then Alice started leaning on her hip impatiently. Ghost Pokémon business, I thought.

"Ready?" I asked her. I whistled toward June and motioned her to come to me. She didn't budge.

Alice looked dumbfounded at June, then at me as if she was sizing up a win. Was she in disbelief? Seeing a Pokémon not listening to the trainer you're about to fight can make you hopeful. But my gut told me Alice would think she could win even if I got June to do algebra.

She shrugged. "Let's go." She picked up her belt and put it around her waist inside her hoodie. When she started to climb down to the plot, Zero loudly cleared his throat.

"Alice, you're not letting Ed pick which Pokémon to fight?" He asked with a questionable hint of worry.

She looked up at us with her lips pursed. Without a word, she climbed back up to us and lifted her hoodie up in front of me, her Poké Ball belt in full view.

"Ed, how many Pokémon can you use?" Zero asked.

I was about to answer, but then I figured lying and saying two would put things in my favor. Besides, I never used my Nidorino. I didn't even know if he was healthy enough to be let out.

So lying wasn't the word for it. "Two."

Zero nodded softly. "I see. And Alice, you already know which two Ed can use?"

"Yeah. June and Shox. That Combusken and a Luxio," she answered. Her being honest made me feel sour about myself for considering lying.

"Fire-fighting and electric," Zero pointed out to himself. He put a reassuring hand on both our shoulders. "To make this fair and interesting, Alice decided to let you pick two Pokémon off her belt. Do you know which Poké Balls belong to which Pokémon?"

I never noticed Alice didn't mark her Poké Balls. On the way to Ecruteak fighting trainers, she never got them mixed up or made any mistakes. Neither did Rob, thinking about it.

"No. I don't," I said.

Zero chuckled heartily. "Good! Now pick and hope you don't shoot yourself in the head!"

"Right," I muttered. I looked at Alice's belt. Four notches holding four Poké Balls. There was no reason putting too much thought into my odds, so I just tapped furthest left and furthest right.

Alice took the two Poké Balls out and activated them both. Her coyness from trying to walk away before I picked was gone, replaced with a small icy smile and eyes focused on my own. Awkwardly, I struggled to keep my composure, but she just kept looking at me. Almost mockingly, like a taunting scarecrow with crystal eyes, as if she was ready to see what kind of hell she could put me through.

She said nothing as she walked down to the plot, both Poké Balls in hand.

"Yo Ed!" Rob shouted from above. "Go on! You ought'ta fight all her Pokémon with just June or Shox!"

Darius slapped my back. "Good luck, man."

Without any command, June ran down the plot and somersaulted right in the center of the gym. 'Ooh's' and 'Ah's' cruised along the crowd.

June was already making a show, and I hoped it wouldn't end with her and Shox beaten to a bloody pulp.

June was adamant about staying out, standing below me in front of my block. Normally, I'd let my Pokémon do their own thing, but I'd point out surprise attacks and tricks. Would June listen to me? I asked myself. If she didn't, she'd probably still fight – June was too arrogant not to.

Alice was across from us, tossing the Poké Ball in her right hand casually in the air. She stared straight into my mind with her dark eyes with her deceivingly innocent smile. Picturing her without her contacts and hair dye freaked me out. Maybe it was because I hadn't seen her blonde hair and blue eyes in a while and was forgetting about them. She had drastically changed again, but from a normal girl who was a trainer, to some monster was waiting for me to stick my hand through the cage to grab a victory.

She needed help. She wasn't wishing good luck or making any sort of movement except tossing that one ball. Something inside Alice was off.

And when she tossed the Poké Ball, I caught a glimpse of what she had kept locked away inside herself.

The Wartortle rushed out of the Poké Ball's light, making a mad dash toward June with surprising speed.

That was enough to tell me to switch. When I fought Water Pokémon with June, I made sure she never gave them a chance to attack. Shredder was about to be on top of June like she was the cause for every horrible thing in the world.

I returned June and tossed Shox out. My plan was to force Alice to switch, and bonus points were for taking the rushing turtle out.

Instead, Alice kept Shredder out, actually putting the second ball away. She let her arms hang to her sides, compared to me leaning over the railing, worried about June.

"Shredder! Get'er! Now!" she commanded. "NOW!"

Shox was barely out the light from the Poké Ball before Shredder snatched Shox's head with both arms. With a great heave, Shredder chucked Shox to the middle, into the circle of the famous Poké Ball diagram. The crowd exploded in excitement.

I wasn't going to let my Pokémon get tossed around like a raging child's plush toy. "Shox, get up! Thund-"

I couldn't get the command out my mouth before Shredder was all over Shox. I didn't know what it was. Was Shox too slow or was Shredder too fast, because Shredder was beating Shox across his head with a heavy, balled-up fist. Shox unleashed some glowing sparks, which only got an audible growl from his assailant. Yet, smoke and steam rose from the holes from his shell. Holding Shox down by the neck with one arm and punching him with the other, Shredder refused to let Shox get up.

Then Shox let out an ear-splitting scream that made everyone inside silent. More hits. When Shredder raised his arm, I saw it was covered in blood Then drops of blood flew from Shox to the dirt every time Shredder hit him. Shox's tail whipped with each hit. Shedder's wide shell blocked Shox's face from my view, preventing me from seeing the damage. Rob, nearly falling down the bleachers, leaned over the railing, having a perfect view of the carnage. A rhythmic moist sound came from in front of Shredder with each moment his fist came down.

"Ed, call him back!" Rob barked, gritting his teeth. His hair hung over his head like a mop, giving him a rabid, desperate look. "Alice! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING? Are you trying to kill the thing?"

I returned Shox to his ball and deactivated it. First thing after the fight was to run back to the Pokémon Center. The patch of blood in the center of the plot told me to give up and run away. Shox had never been beaten that badly before. That was unnatural and incredibly evil to watch.

When Alice opened her mouth, it was like a stranger speaking. Same voice, but completely opposite from the young girl who had been giddy about mentioning anything about the Pokémon League.

"If he's worried about his Pokémon, he should call them back," she said. Her smile finally dropped. "How am I supposed to win if I go easy on his Pokémon? Killing the opponent's Pokémon is a win for me. Him calling his Pokémon back eventually gets me a win too if he doesn't have any more to use. It's his call on how he wants to lose. I just fight."

Anger and confusion punched the insides of my head. The Wartortle looked up at me like he was waiting for his next victim, his eyes darkened from the shadows. The front side of his shell was smeared with blood. His right fist had blood dripping into a trail that snaked its way through the sand. I tossed out June with the intention of letting Alice see Shredder boil to an inch of his life.

Again, Shredder dashed toward the white stream of light from the Poké Ball. Unlike with Shox, June's reflexes kicked in faster. June sidestepped the ravaging turtle and backhanded him on the back of his head.

Shredder fell over on his stomach. June let loose a stream of searing fire from both hands onto his shell. Shredder's ears and tail flailed wildly and independently. I took it as June messing up their nerves.

Then Shredder's hands and feet withdrew into the shell.

"Kick it!" I shouted.

She didn't listen. Instead she kept unleashing fire on the protected Pokémon.

"Dig deep!" Alice commanded.

With her words, the shell wobbled violently in place amidst the flames. Then it started to shake so hard, the shell tossed sand into the air, revolving. Soon, it submerged completely into the ground.

June did the smart thing and blasted fire down the hole to flush out Shredder. The amount of heat blurred her image. I looked up at Alice. Her eyes were narrow and her arms were folded. Her telling Shredder to dig into the ground was enough to tell me she got worried.

The logic in the fight was frustratingly backwards. Water beats Electric?

Suddenly, Shredder's hand burst from the ground and snatched June's leg. She let loose a lash of flames underneath her as she fell on her face, searing Shredder's stubby blue arm.

He swiftly pulled himself out of the sand. Immediately getting a firm stance, Shredder opened his wide, gaping mouth and inhaled.

June took the opportunity to blast Shredder in the mouth with an explosion, still on stomach, reaching over her back. The Wartortle stumbled back, in both shock and agony, drooling water profusely to comfort the burns on his gums and tongue.

"Finish him, now!" I shouted. The intensity of the fight forced me to lean against the railing. My hat was in my hand and my hoodie was hanging off the railing at my side. I had been too into my Pokémon fighting Alice's that I didn't notice I was stripping.

"Make bubbles," Alice ordered tersely, just loud enough for me to hear across the battle plot. The audience remained silent.

Bubbles? I thought.

Shredder sharply inhaled, closing his mouth and dodging June's blast just in time. June took the opportunity to rush close to Shredder, rocking a right hook down across his head. His mouth opened, unleashing a cloudy flurry of tiny white bubbles, sparkling from the lights above.

Most of them popped on June. She had no time to get out of the way, soaking wet in a few seconds from the seemingly harmless attack. Her hands clenched and she drew her arms close like she had chest pains. Then she hunched over, pitifully falling to her side and curling up like a dying Spinarak, surrounded by a patch of mud.

"Ed, call it," Alice beckoned. Her face had lost some of its coldness by her looking downcast, but her tone was still serious. "Call it now."

Horror and anger took over me when I saw Shredder standing over June's writhing body. He kicked June over on her stomach and put a foot down on her back. June's head was shaking back and forth like she was having a seizure, face dirtied from the mud. Shredder reached down and grabbed June's left arm, holding it up in both hands.

Without any warning, Shredder sharply jerked her arm across her back to her right. The snap of breaking bone echoed throughout the gym. Any talking stopped. Alice blinked dumbly. My heart skipped a beat and I felt nauseous from the image in front of me. Shox's blood mixed with the mud. June laying there with an arm going across her back, dangling.

And then June screamed for the first time. It was an agonizing, guttural sound, muffled by her face in the mud. I returned her.

Nobody in the crowd cheered. Instead, everyone mumbled to each other, as if to hide something from me and Alice. At the top of the bleachers, Nina had her hands covering her mouth, eyes wide enough for me to see the whites from where I stood.

Zero stood up next to a petrified Darius. He cleared his throat. "Excuse me."

He made his way down the bleachers and around to Alice's block. She was now leaning over the railing looking at her Wartortle, jaw hanging open. Her eyes darted all over the battle plot in anxiety, and then finally up at me. I looked away. Shredder sat down on the mud, looking blankly at his feet.

"Ed!" She shouted pleadingly. "Oh God!..."

I said nothing. The Nidorino in my pocket was irrelevant. I made my way up the bleachers, running past a concerned Rob.

"Goddammit!" He shouted behind me.

I believe he followed me all the way to the doors, I don't know because I ignored him. I hauled myself to the Pokémon Center. Out the doors and all the way back to the city, I was breathless but it didn't phase me. The loss against Alice was nothing either, and what I currently thought about Alice wasn't important. Shox had been beaten to a pulp like I had feared and June had gotten severely wet. Her being a fire Pokémon made me think she had to keep some internal fire going and Shredder almost put it out. First Nick, and June and Shox followed right behind.

I reached the Pokemon Center wheezing and sweaty. My chest ached from my hands beating against it as I ran. A nurse had to guide me to a couch so I wouldn't pass out on my feet. Getting me a cup of orange juice, I handed her June and Shox's Poké Balls and PokeDex.

"Please...my Pokemon..." I breathed out, holding my knees.

That was all she needed to hear. She promised to send them to the critical care unit and took them to the reception desk where they were warped.

I stayed in my seat, thoughts and feelings twisting around inside, all of them wanting get out and make their mark. I wanted to hurt Alice the same way she hurt my Pokemon, but I couldn't convince myself if I truly felt that way. Thinking about this made me feel pathetic about not doing anything for my Pokemon, who are the ones who actually battle.

Then I questioned if I could even get badges. In a two-v-two match, Alice managed to solo me with Shredder, even whenever I had Shox.

My head got light. I swallowed the orange juice, managing to calm myself down. Crumpling the small plastic cup and tossing it into a garbage bin, I promised myself that everything would be okay. Alice managed to make badges irrelevant to me. She was disturbed, but there was no way I was going to let her Pokemon do that to my Pokemon. My friends.

The fact Shredder took down Shox so fast made Alice a better trainer than me. That told me that I'd have to be a better trainer than I was now. She may have gotten her badge, but possibly smashing Shox's face in and breaking June's arm while dousing her in water meant I'd fight Alice again, even with June and Shox starting.

Perhaps Alice had broken me into the desire to become a stronger and better trainer.

And as if sensing my thoughts of aspiration, Charles Abel walked into the center, alone, wearing a tan suit and red necktie. He had a full-fledged beard growing across his chin and sides, giving him a wise, fatherly figure.

I watched him as he went up to the desk and gave the nurses a single Poké Ball. With a quick and approving nod, he started to return to the entrance.

And then he turned and noticed me. I realized I was wearing the hoodie and looked away at some nurses chatting in a corner, trying my best to look casual.

Unfortunately, he came up to me, arms akimbo and had a stern stance. "You're here to pick up some Pokemon?" he asked.

"No, I just dropped some off," I answered. Talking to a law-figure meant I had to answer his questions immediately or else he'd continue to bug me. Why someone who managed to get into the Hoenn Elite Four want to mess with me? I didn't know.

His face eased up, and his eyes became softer. "Ah, what happened? Run into a tough wild Pokemon?"

I shook my head, staring up at him. His tallness made him slightly silhouetted against the lights.

"I got out of a fight with a friend of mine," I admitted. "She beat my two Pokemon. Beat them up pretty badly. One was beaten bloody and the other got an arm broke."

I left out the detail about June being a fire Pokemon. He didn't need to know all of that.

Abel nodded understandingly, giving me an approving smile. "You did the right thing then. Take care of your Pokemon and they take care of you," he recited.

Surprisingly, he didn't offer up his name. He didn't know me and he made no move to see if I knew him. I found myself giving him respect for that. He didn't whore himself out like the other Champions I had met, even if he could've just assumed everyone knew who he was. Nobody flocked to him, though.

With another nod, he bade me farewell and left, leaving me sitting there on the couch. The nurse from before came by to tell me my Pokemon would be alright in a couple of hours and that I could come by later. Instead, I told her I'd sit and wait for my Pokemon, and if it was possible, see them. Warmly, she said she'd notify me when June and Shox were ready for visitors, but by then they'd probably be better.

That bit of information alleviated some of my grief, but my goals and intentions stayed the same. When my Pokemon got better, I didn't see myself fighting Alice again immediately. Instead, I saw myself worrying less about badges and focusing on becoming a better trainer.

I nodded to myself. Being a better trainer was my new goal, for the sake of June, Shox, Nick, and even my Nidorino. And for my own sake. I never wanted to feel this powerless ever again.

* * *

_Well that's Chapter 27 done. 28 should be out pretty soon...faster than 27 that's for sure._

_Read and review!  
_


	28. Chapter XXVIII: Advent

_Again, sorry sorry SORRY for the long wait. I was in summer school and my classes took more of my time. But after I got out, I finished up both chapter 28 and 29! Also, I'VE MANAGED TO GET 100 REVIEWS! I never believed I'd hit that much, so I'm pretty happy about that. Also, it seems Pokemon 0 is going everywhere now, which is quite awesome. Also, I'll get back to responding to some reviewers (especially scyther is Nick).  
_

_Anyway, here's chapter 28. I'm still debating on when to post chapter 29. I think I'll wait on a few reviews to show up or I might post it later today (or tomorrow). Or is that bad practice _?_

_Also, Volume 1 ends at Chapter 30._

_Remember to submit a review!_

_EDIT: I fixed some bad wording and typos here and there. Fixed the intro.  
_

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_You get to a point where you wonder what problems you should be focusing on. Like, take the Amber Act. Shit's serious, right? Along with that, you got teen pregnancy amongst trainers, and then you got the unreliability of the Pokemon League. I think that all goes hand-in-hand but forget about that for now._

_Then step away from that. You have your money issues. You could be starving or you don't have a roof over your head. Or you could be possibly hunted by the Rocket Syndicate for whatever reason. Or even worse, you could be hunting down someone or lost a loved one._

_Problems sort of go away when you prioritize them. When I think that way, I sort of wonder if I'm fine with kids being forced to be trainers when someone could possibly shoot me in the head while I'm sleep tonight._

_-Ned McFarlane_

_

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_

**Chapter XXVIII: Advent**

Five days passed since Alice beat me for the Fog Badge. Every single day, I made sure I was at the Pokémon Center checking up on June, Shox, and Nick. Nick managed to be the first to be released from the Center, completely a Scizor. June's body temperature had dropped below a hundred degrees from Shredder's bubbles. A nurse explained that most fire Pokémon had an internal flame that kept their bodies at a significant temperature. Shredder had doused June enough to make hers go out. From the nurses' words, that was worse than her arm getting broken.

Shox miraculously managed to recover fairly easily. Shredder had knocked him into a concussion, and his skin had torn from the repeated hits. The right half face had to be shaved and stitched up. His right eye was also swollen shut in a bulbous, fleshy black eye. If I had let Shredder keep punching Shox, I was told he'd possibly die from internal bleeding.

Alice would've let it get that far.

Hanging around the Team Zero base was awkward. Nobody said a word to me, but I could feel everyone's eyes on my back. Zero said I could stay until the base was evacuated. A free room was worth hearing the people whispering my name in corners.

Alice and I avoided each other. I didn't want to be around an uncontrollably violent person like her, and I felt she would make sure I knew she was a better trainer. Despite that, she ignored me like I ignored her. If we were in the same room, one of us would either go to the other side or leave altogether. A day was good when I didn't run into Alice.

Rob would come with me to the Pokémon Center. He admitted the battle shook him up because trained Pokémon were rarely that brutal. Feeling obligated, he took my Moon Stone and tied it around my Nidorino's neck. Seeing the violet, rare crystal hanging from his neck made me think about royalty. He'd become a Nidoking. A king. And from that point on, his name was Alan, named after King Alan the Ninth who ruled the regions five cycles ago and fought Fior over trade routes. He was the only historical king of the regions I liked because he would settle political problems with sword duels.

"Give him some time," he said. "He'll change."

Rob was nowhere to be found when I went to pick up my Pokémon. Though I had ran to the Pokémon Center by myself when Shredder injured them, having a friend around was relieving. The weight on my shoulders only didn't seem as much because I was ready to see my Pokémon run around. I assumed he was out on a mission.

That afternoon, I was watching Shox play around with Rob's Eevee in front of the museum. To keep Shox from scratching his stitches, the Pokémon Center nurses put an E-collar on him. They were all playing a game of keep-away, where the Eevee would try to jump inside the collar. I had to wonder if Shox was actually having fun.

The Burned Tower was closed for today. For the past week, most of the visitors came when Ecruteak celebrated the Autumnal Equinox. That died out and the only people hanging around were the ladies in kimonos that took care of the place and the kids and teenagers in Team Zero.

I decided to lie down on my bench. Nick was off in the woods trying to get used to his heavier weight. June ran off with him, her left arm in a cast. Alan was resting under the bench with a slight snore.

The temperature was dropping again and I got up to go back inside. I gathered up my Pokémon and returned them to their Poké Balls. As I headed toward the ornate wooden doors, Nina called out to me from down the path to the city. She carried a few bags of clothes and shoes, saying she wanted to splurge a little before leaving Johto for good.

We had a nice chat. I had barely talked to another person in the past few days and we hadn't had a conversation since we were in Goldenrod, so speaking to Nina was a comfort. At first, we talked about small things like the weather and the city, but then she asked me about what happened in the National Park. I explained my encounter with Riley, how he wanted to catch us for a bounty, and how Rob's Steelix and Charizard saved us.

"Has Dad talked to you since the fight?" she asked. She went inside the museum toting her bags.

"Nah, he hasn't," I said, following her through the closed main area. The lack of candlelight removed the valuable giant wall scroll's glamour. Only a few were lit for Team Zero members to get in and out without running into each other or the walls.

Our conversation took me downstairs to where Team Zero members were lazily lounging around, still waiting to leave Johto. Navigating through noisy, cluttered people sitting on the floor, Nina led me to the girls' quarters and her room.

I didn't have enough time to stand outside awkwardly. She unlocked her door. "Come in, I want to ask you something."

Her room was bare except for a pile of taped-up cardboard boxes in the corner. Up against the farthest wall stood a dismantled bed. Bits of tape and holes peppered the walls and a faint scent of peach lingered in the air.

She closed the door behind her slightly, looking out the crack. "Has Rob said anything about me?"

While that was the last thing I expected her to ask me, it wasn't too out there thinking about it. "It's none of my business."

She snapped her full attention at me. "He told you not to say anything?"

"No," I said. "Why are you asking me about him? You can't talk to him about…whatever you want?"

She twisted her mouth in defeat and nodded. She shrugged and her eyebrows jumped. "Fine, I guess. I just wanted to know what he's been up to. And I think something's wrong with him."

I put my hands in my pockets, curious. Rob's attitude had gradually changed the longer I spent time with him. I didn't get the vibe that his true colors were starting to show, but instead that he was genuinely changing. "Rob's always up to something, I think. But what makes you think something's wrong with him?"

Nina's eyes sank and stared around the floor. She chuckled under her breath. "Yeah, I think this conversation's might get a _little_ bit too personal."

I understood and smiled. "Maybe. I'm only about to be fourteen. I don't think I'm good with talking about relationships and stuff."

Seeing where I was coming from, she nodded softly, almost mournfully.

Cheering up wouldn't have hurt. "He does care about you though," I admitted. "I think talking to him will make him feel better because, yeah, he has been pretty down lately."

Nina picked up immediately. "You think if I did my hair, he'd notice?"

She pinched a bit of her short, black hair and twisted the strands around her finger. When I had first met her, she was a nerdy girl living by herself in Goldenrod. After I came back from Gavin's, she was stylish and sexy by wearing tighter clothes to show off her curves. Ironically, that was when Rob became touchy. Rob reacting the way he did surprised me. She got more attractive and he started dismissing her.

Someone knocked on the door and pushed it gently. "Hey Nina, you in here?"

She stuck her head through the opening and we locked eyes. My heart skipped a beat from anxiety and she jerked her head back, bumping it on the side. "Ow! God damn it!"

Nina snickered and swung the door open. "You okay?"

Alice didn't enter. She stood there holding the back of her smarting head. Her currently blue eyes awkwardly danced on the concrete floor. She hadn't forgotten her hair dye.

We said nothing to each other for those few seconds. She wasn't boastful and I wasn't completely angry. I wasn't afraid of her either, but I still wanted an apology. Asking for one was out of the question, but she beat me fair and square regardless of how violent she was. If Shox had died or June couldn't use her left arm right for life, I would've held nothing but contempt toward her.

Because of those thoughts, I promised myself I wouldn't fight her again. Not until she became sane over gym leader battles or I got better than her. She was the better trainer regardless.

Nina's face went back and forth between me and Alice. "Alright! How about you two go above ground and have a talk?"

Both of us stared at her like she suggested we kill ourselves.

"What? When was the last time you two said a word to each other? And Alice, don't you have something to tell Ed?"

Alice blinked in surprise. "Huh? Wha-?"

Nina guided me out her room. Alice made sure to step away from me like a stray Meowth.

"Did you need something Alice?" Nina asked. "I gotta set the portals up."

Alice was at a loss for words. Her eyes were pleading to Nina to get her away from me. "Uh…nothing important, I guess. Just…wanted to talk."

Nina smiled, now poking her head out her door. "Later okay? After we're in Sinnoh. I gotta change and then double-check and make sure my Beldum in Sinnoh are set up."

She noticed how far away Alice and I stood from each other. "But yeah, you two talk and say your goodbyes. Ed, you're not in Team Zero so you might not see Alice for a while."

That didn't occur to me much. However, it was true. I thought about joining Team Zero and knew it meant being with Rob and Alice. Zero didn't mind me being an apprentice either. So the question was if it really would hurt joining?

Alice and I stood in the girls' hall in front of Nina's room. Girls passing by gave us awkward looks and I could hear the hushed gossip hissing through their lips.

Composure completely gone, Alice was a wreck, hands in pocket, bobbing up and down her heels, trying her best not to run away from me like a child yet wondering what to do. When I finally decided to look at her, it felt good. An apology was well on its way, I thought. Everything would be fine after that.

"I didn't say 'good game'," I said, trying to cut the tension. I mustered up a warm smile and held a hand out.

Her brow curled down in confusion. "I almost killed one of your Pokémon. That was a good game?"

I took my hand back. Sportsmanship wasn't going to work and I couldn't find anything to say.

"I felt terrible when you ran away," she admitted, looking at Nina's door with her head down. "Shredder really beat your Pokémon badly, but I didn't want you to run away like that."

I was confused. What was Alice getting at? "What do you mean?"

She stood straight and glared at me as if I insulted her. "Why did you run away?" she spat. "I felt bad enough doing that to your Pokémon, but you didn't have to be such a big baby and leave like that."

My jaw hung at her words. Alice grabbed her head in distraught and sighed.

"Listen," she said. "I thought saying goodbye to you back in the alleys was good enough, but then we had to fight for the badge. That messed things up."

She shook her head. "It's so awkward talking to you because I don't know what to think about you at all."

There wasn't much to interpret. "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, bewildered. "What do you mean by 'you don't know what to think about me'? What did I do?"

"You ran off when you lost," she admitted in a low tone.

My volume rose by itself. "I had to! You almost killed my Pokémon!"

She winced at the word killed like a bug was flying in her face. "I just played the game," she hissed. "You can't blame me because you kept your Pokémon out getting hit too long. And you definitely can't get mad at me because your electric Pokémon couldn't..." She stopped herself, flustered. "Nevermind. If I don't see you again, goodbye."

With that, she stomped down the hallway. Fury took me over. I had no problems spending time with her before Team Zero left, but telling me that I don't care about my Pokémon while thinking I was stupid? I couldn't take that. She was about to say Shox was a sorry electric Pokémon or something.

I chased her. "If you're going to talk about Shox, you can't!" I yelled. "I don't know what you did to your Shredder, but that ain't natural!"

She ignored me, even shoving past people bigger than her. I followed her up the stairs in the main basement area to the empty museum.

When she burst open the entrance doors, she snapped around. "What do you want? Keep it up and I might say something I can't take back," she warned. "What? You're mad at me? For what? Winning?"

The side of my skull ached. A vein must've popped as I yelled. _"You went too far! And you act like you can't say anything about it!"_

"What the fuck? Good game then!" She shouted. "But no! No apologies!"

My arm twitched and my teeth clenched. I suddenly got the desire to punch her in the face. I wanted her to be thankful I didn't beat her into a pulp or break her arm like she did to my Pokémon.

"_How'd I go too far? Huh? How?"_ She screamed at the top of her lungs. I stepped back. It was as if she was mad at me the entire time.

"_Like I said, it's your responsibility as a trainer to know when your Pokémon are going to lose! So stop following me trying to make me say something nobody has to say. Good game, okay?"_

She plucked the last straw. Her outburst killed any calm mood I had before. Alice was an immature, power-hungry brat. She couldn't be my friend if she couldn't at least apologize for almost crippling, almost killing my Pokémon.

I glared at her. She glared back even harder. There would be no convincing her. We both thought we were right and we disagreed with each other. It was her fault June had a broken arm and Shox had to wear that silly funnel. None of it was fair.

Then my train of thought shifted. My conscience had been hushed up since running into Alice, repeating her rant in my head. Along with it, I felt shame over wanting to hit her. Months of being a trainer and being out in the world started to take its effect, making me feel lax and tired.

A raindrop hit my hand, which had unclenched some moment before. I looked up at the giant grey cloud above Ecruteak. The air tasted thick, earthly, and real.

"So," I started, soothingly calm, "what if I had done to Shredder what you did to Shox and June?"

Alice stared at me for a good second, possibly surprised at my transformation. She settled down as well. "I wouldn't have let it get that far. Shredder's good at keeping the pain on Pokémon. But still, if you shocked him good once, I would've switched him out."

Her sound answer made me feel stupid.

She continued. "And I don't get why you sent out June like you did," she said in a quiet, worried tone. "You've never fought me before. Why did you expect June to win?"

The first thing I assumed was that she was saying June wasn't good, but she had a point. That was my first time taking on Alice and using a fire type against a water type wasn't wise.

"So if you were me, you would've given up after Shox lost?" I asked, hoping I didn't sound sarcastic.

She nodded and smiled warmly, putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "It would've been better than having my Pokémon get their asses kicked right?"

Her point was almost magical. Maybe she was being condescending and I wasn't catching on, but her words and logic touched me. Her and my conscious got rid of my anger completely. A better trainer would've given up.

"I'm sorry for getting on your case," I admitted.

She shook her head. "You don't have to apologize. Besides, I knew which Pokémon you'd use. And my second Pokémon was Justice."

That name was too good for her Pokémon. "Your Rhyhorn?"

Alice nodded. "Yep."

Knowing the fight would've been hers anyway helped me feel better. All I could do was get ready for the next time, and I already promised myself there would be one. No doubt.

Then it hit me that it might be forever until I saw her again. Nina wanted me to tell her goodbye. The thought of doing it made me feel lonely. However, the argument with Alice managed to make me feel closer to her.

"So you'll be gone tonight?" I asked. I knew the answer, yet I asked even though I didn't want to hear it from her.

She sighed and her face fell. "Yeah… If you're not joining Team Zero, then I guess we'll see each other sometime in the future. Somewhere down the road."

How long would it be? Years? That was too long. I liked Alice and not doing anything about it would kill me.

Staring into her vibrant blue eyes made me gulp. Then I focused on her small nose, and then her thick pink lips.

Her hand was still on my shoulder. I took it into my own hands, letting all my honesty out in case I'd never get the chance again.

"Well, there's something…I'd like…" I managed to get out my mouth. Something inside me wanted to stammer but I wouldn't let it get me completely. "There's something I'd like to do, since you're leaving and everything…"

Her face was flushed pink and I could feel mine all warm. Her hand was soft against my palm and fingers.

She didn't pull it back, nor did she move when I drew my face to hers. Turning my head slightly to the right and closing my eyes, I placed a kiss on her top lip like I had saw on TV shows. Keeping all awkwardness from ruining the moment, I took in how her lips were as soft as I imagined them to be. A single quick exhale from her nostrils brushed my left cheek.

The quick suck on her lip made that same popping sound I'd hear when Mom and Dad kissed for a second. For a moment, I didn't believe I made it. On top of that, her mouth was as soft I had imagined it.

I drew my head back and opened my eyes, just as she was opening hers. Neither of us said anything.

Then awkwardness was all over the place. I snatched my hands off of hers. I felt like I had swam out too far from the beach and was about to drown in embarrassment. Alice's face was deep red and mine was burning up. My body felt imbalanced and heavy. I was trembling and the fact Alice was watching me freak out made it even worse. It was painfully obvious that I wasn't Rob. The only thing that kept me from running away and hiding was some damn ignorance. A part of me kept me standing despite looking like a wreck.

Alice brought her fingers up to her lips. Fortunately her mouth was closed. If she had been gasping from shock, I'd probably never talk to a girl again from being tactless and from being…well…me. Alice not stomping off or hitting me was what surprised me the most.

She stared at me and I stared back. I had no idea what was going on in her head. I was too focused on what was going on in mine.

Somehow, I was the first to say something. "I'm…I'm sorry."

Alice blinked, taking her hand away from her mouth. "You like me?"

Her question stung. I nodded like a child admitting to misbehaving, looking away from her and playing with my hands behind my back. "Yeah."

Then I heard a girly giggle come from her. Still blushing radiantly, she held her hands in front of herself and started bobbing up and down on her toes and heels. Alice probably didn't take me seriously as much of a little kid I was looking like.

"So…that was your way of telling me goodbye?" she asked mischievously. She was grinning with her mouth open. Her tongue pushed against the bottom row of teeth. Her giddiness made me less awkward, but more confused.

"Yeah," I answered. Then more spilled out of me like an upside down open gallon of milk. "I've never kissed any girl before. I wanted to kiss you because I dunno if I'll see you again. And if I didn't, I would've regretted it and I want to start doing what I want to do. And I would've been fine if you stopped me. I just wanted to try."

Her expression dropped and she raised a brow. "So you wanted to kiss me because you've never been kissed and-"

I could already tell I screwed up by telling her my thoughts and making myself look selfish. There was more I had to say, and this was the equivalent of a rainstorm pouring through an open roof.

"Alice, you probably think I'm some huge loser who can't talk to girls. And that's the truth because I can't. Right now, I'm nervous as all hell and I wanted to run away."

"Nervous? Why?" She asked.

My head sank. "Because I'm not used to this. I'm not used to telling a girl what I think about her. I just _showed_ you what I think about you and now I feel like I might be having a stroke. I know I'm running my mouth but I can't help it because I really do like you and I would hate myself for not taking the risk and kissing you. I always wondered how you were doing after we met in Cherrygrove."

That desire to stand my ground made me firmly look back up at her. "I think you're awesome. I think you're a bit crazy, but you handle Pokémon way better than me. You're smart. You're very nice. You're braver than me. And you're very cute and I wish you didn't have to hide your hair and eye color. I like the fact that you stick out like a sore thumb, like your eyes right now."

She chuckled. "Yeah, today I figured not having contacts would be nice."

Then she sighed and softly smiled. Her eyes had a twinkle in them. "Well I feel good that you told me all that. I didn't think anyone thought all that about me, but Darius flirts with me sometimes."

Jealousy kicked in. "He has a girlfriend. I met her when I met him."

She shook her head at my tone like I had done something wrong but cute. "He had a funny way of saying he was single, but whatever. I doubt me and him could stick together anyway."

Alice's smile turned to a frown and her voice became mournful. "You said you thought I was crazy?"

She's insulted, I immediately thought. "I didn't mean it!" I pleaded, holding my hands out. "I couldn't think of the right words! I dunno how to describe it!"

Then suddenly, she took her right hand and put her fingers through my left hand.

"It's fine," she assured, rubbing her thumb against my palm. She took a deep, slow breath before continuing. "You're right. You've seen me do things too, like when that Riley kid attacked us and how I acted when we fought each other. When I feel like I gotta win, I zone out."

She glared at me, almost into my very soul. "And when I get that way, I like it. I don't think. I don't hold back. And that's good because I don't need to be weak."

She paused, probably taking in what she herself just said. "That's why I named my Rhyhorn Justice. I feel like anything I do to anyone in that syndicate or whatever is justified."

"Why?" I asked. Was she about to tell me about what happened to her in Azalea? Knowing her secret behind her back started to make me feel sickeningly manipulative.

Alice's expression sank even more. She shook her head. "I can't say. Too much happened after I left Cherrygrove. And I gotta fix a few things before I can tell others."

Her grip tightened over my hand. "I don't want to be seen as weak. _I don't want to be weak_."

Those words reverberated in my core. I couldn't see Alice as weak, but my desire related to hers completely. If anything, her desire made mine since it was losing to her that made me redo my motivations.

I squeezed her hand. "Yeah. Me neither."

My nervousness had died down and Alice and I stood around outside, talking about what we needed to do to be better trainers. We let our Pokémon out to run around while we listened to each other. Her attention was split with Nick lulling around us, tired from his new body weight. He plopped on the ground down next to us. He had somehow managed to get his red gloss dirty.

Alice was vigorously wiping his fearsome claw with the side of her sleeve. Shocker took his place on top of her head and struggled to hold on, squeaking desperately.

"I'm actually not going to Sinnoh," Alice said, watching Nick buzz off into the air. "Well, I'm not staying I think."

I had been watching the night come. My mind was wondering what I was going to do once Rob and Alice were gone. "Say what?"

"Zero talked to me after we fought," she said. "He figured I'd be an _'essential temporary addition' _to the Hoenn Team Zero."

I sat on the ground. My insecurity rationalized that was why she couldn't be with Darius. "Why?"

She put her hands in her pockets and stared out at the receding sunset. "He said it'll be for my own good. He said I'll be staying with a woman who's like me and can teach me how to be a far better trainer."

She smirked down at me. "I think Zero's afraid of me. I'm too much for him. I'm too good probably."

She got a shrug out of me; I didn't know what to say. Something told me Alice was overstepping it but nobody likes to be told that.

When the thunder came, we got our Pokémon and went back inside the museum. When we went down to the basement, nobody was in the giant room where mostly all the members hung out.

"Where's everyone?" I asked Alice. All the tables and makeshift seats were gone. No sign of life whatsoever. Just an empty concrete room as big as a gym.

"Nina said she had to put the portals up, right?" Alice asked. "So everyone's probably leaving now. Downstairs somewhere."

The moment I dreaded had come. "Now? I haven't even seen Rob yet!"

She waved a hand in front of me and put a finger on her lips. I got quiet. Muffled voices came from below.

"They're downstairs," Alice said. "If they're leaving, right now, I think I need to pack up."

"Huh? I thought everyone's leaving tonight," I said, worried. "I gotta say goodbye to Rob…"

Alice snickered. "You're going to kiss him too?"

I frowned. "No."

She grinned ear to ear and patted my cheek. "You're funny. But now, I gotta go and get ready. So I'll see you later?"

I looked around the room for another stairwell. "Yeah. But how do I get downstairs? I thought there was only one set going up."

She pointed over to a lone metal door I never noticed with a picture of stairs to the side. I was too oblivious.

"Go on," Alice said, "I'll meet you down there."

She went off to the girls' chambers, leaving me alone in the giant empty room. I went to the door and climbed down the fluorescent lit stairs. Oddly, the bottom floor was covered in a violet light, spreading up the stairs.

I got to the bottom and was staring into another large room. A humongous violet circle of light peered at me. The light was so bright I had to cover my eyes with my arm. It was almost as bad as looking into the sun, as if it was a hundred or so meters away from my face without the heat.

"Ed? That you?" Darius asked from somewhere inside. I heard footsteps running closer to me. He grabbed my other arm.

"Your red hair looks pitch black in all this light," he pointed out for whatever reason.

"How can you see anything?" I asked. "You got glasses or something?"

Someone slipped something over my head and onto my face. "Here," Nina's voice said. "This should fit. Open your eyes."

I did as I was told. The lens I was looking through softened the brightness and made everything a bit darker. I could see Nina and Darius next to me, wearing heart-shaped masks split in white and black. Nina had given me my own mask.

I tapped it. The mask produced a hard, hollow sound. Strong material. Smelled like plastic.

"I saved a mask for you. I figured you'd want to catch some people before they left," Nina explained. Then her voice became slow with a hint of mischief. "How'd it go with Alice?"

I jumped in shock. "Uh..."

"What's goin' on?" Darius piped.

She must've imagined my face being completely red and embarrassed because she changed the subject quick. "Oh yeah! I forgot! I never introduced you to Inez."

"Inez?" I asked, mentally thanking her. The name sounded familiar.

She nodded. "Yeah. Look." She pointed to the light. A bunch of members were standing around with cardboard boxes like a moving day. The number of members was less than what I was used to seeing. Then some started going in, carrying boxes on their shoulders and in arms. Some guy starting laughing over how a friend forgot to take all of his belongings. Out of niceness, he took his friend's stuff and somehow crammed it into his own boxes and carried all of it through the portal. Nobody came back out.

"Ed. The edges," Darius said.

The edges of the portal were made up a number of small, darkened, almost rectangular floating figures. Focusing my eyes made me recognize the outlines of many Beldum. Their circular heads were pointing to the center of the violet light emitting beams that made up the portal. Their rectangular undersides swirled together like a pinwheels. About twenty Beldum were blasting light, hovering as low to the floor as possible all the way to the high ceiling.

"Which one is Inez?" I asked.

_[At the moment, I'm composed of all the Beldum you see in front of you.]_

The telepathic voice sounded like a calm, matured Sinnoh woman. Not too old, but definitely not young. Back when Rob, Alice and I got to Ecruteak, Alice talked about how Nina's Beldum sounded like a little girl. The voice could've been from a mom from in another region. Nobody else in front of the portal reacted to the telepathy.

"She's all the Beldum making the portal?" I asked Nina.

_[I'd prefer it if you asked me questions about myself and not to anyone else. It's uncouth to talk about said subject to another person while the subject is within audible range.]_

"Inez, you know he didn't mean it," Nina said to the collection of Pokémon. "Not everyone meets someone like you. And I think you're updating your vocabulary again. For some reason, I don't think people from Sinnoh say uncouth, my seemingly-to-be-_perspicacious_ comrade."

I didn't know which Beldum to look at. Darius scratched his head. "Persi-what?"

_[Perspicacious is synonymous with being keen, Apprentice. But yes, Antonina, you caught me. I recently dug through a dictionary. I had the strangest desire to associate synonyms to the words in the level of vocabulary we agreed upon.]_

Nina chuckled softly, shaking her head. "Why do you keep trying to act like a computer? I told you you're not one and just stick with one way to talk. Just pick one everyone can get."

I pictured a woman nodding in agreement. _[Fine. Now, who is this boy you're introducing to me? Is he a new apprentice? I remember sensing your father considering someone that fits his description._

_[Boy, is your name Edward Willow?]_

Being called out like that was awkard. Nina shrugged when I looked up at her.

"Yeah, that's me."

_['Yeah, that's me, _ma'am.'_]_

I couldn't believe a Pokémon corrected me on politeness and demanded respect, and yet managed to convince me it was the right thing to do.

"Ed, she's joking," Nina pointed out.

_[Partially.]_

Inez introduced herself to me, describing herself completely as a person. The hive mind connection going on between the Beldum was road block in my train of thought. I couldn't comprehend about twenty Pokémon could be just one Pokémon. When she sensed my thought, Inez elaborated she could easily combine the Beldum into one central body. She said she preferred it. Maintaining the portal broke her concentration, keeping her from doing so. She was having hard time getting groups of people through. Nina stopped her from explaining more wave theory in case she bored me to death or scared me off.

Slowly, more members went through the portal. The number dwindled from a rough hundred to a sizable thirty.

No sign of Rob.

_[You make a good point, Edward. Unfortunately, I can't sense his, Zero's, or Nahindelon's presence anywhere.]_

She fell 'silent'. My worry rose.

_[But now, since less people are being transferred, I feel distress.]_

Nina was helping a young member make sure he had everything in his boxes. She snapped into attention. "What's going on?"

The portal flickered, letting the room get dark for less for a second. _[Oh no…. There's a fight.]_

Darius stepped up. He pulled out two Zero balls from his pockets and activated them in both hands. His coat quivered and fluttered like a light gust blew by. "Where at?"

_[Everywhere outside. Nahindelon's on his way to this room right now. Zero and Robert are on the surface.]_

"Inez, keep focusing on the portal!" Nina shouted. "We need the rest out of here!"

"What's up? Something's wrong?" a male member asked, sitting on top of boxes awaiting his turn.

"Yeah, Inez just said there's a fight goin' on outside," Darius responded. He sucked his teeth. "God damn it! What are Zero and Rob fighting, Inez? Tell everybody."

_[Champions. Zero is fighting a number of Champions and rangers alone. Rob is fighting only one, yet the amount of wave manipulation from Rob and his opponent is higher than the ones Zero and his opponents are exhibiting.]_

The members became distraught. A girl's voice chirped with panic. "Champions? How the hell can we fight with most of us across the ocean?"

Violent coughing and hacking came from behind. We turned around to see Nahindelon's cloaked figure hunched over a wooden, gnarled walking stick. His breath was haggard and he fell onto the wall, panting with his tongue hanging out, letting his cane drop. The wood hitting the concrete echoed through the tenseness in the room.

_[.…?Somethingiswrong.]_

His telepathic voice was a blur. The right side of my brain ached sharply, like a knife was plunged into my skull for a brief second. My ears shrilly rang and I closed my eyes in agony. In the background, I thought I could hear Darius scream.

Then pain was gone all at once as if it never happened. My eyes shot open, half-shocked half-paranoid for more pain.

Nahindelon took a deep breath. _[Sorry Kyles, Willow. I forgot to take both your mental lesions in consideration. My mind was in a panicked state and ran too fast and I tried to communicate to all of you.]_

"Fucking Unown," Darius said. "Damn things probably messed us up for life."

Being messed up for life was a question for another time. "Is Rob in trouble?" I asked Nahindelon. "I gotta help him out."

_[Zero said you're free to do as you wish, but the battles are beyond what you, Kyles, and Rowan are used to. He specifically doesn't desire Rowan to join in.]_

Alice would've been infuriated hearing this. "Why not?"

_[Because she is too reckless and would possibly get herself killed.]_

Nina exchanged a short word with Inez, then came back to us. "Nahindelon, are you saying Zero and Rob have it under control? I can't help with Inez transporting people."

The Arcean got up from the wall with regained energy. He stood as straight as he could with his crooked back. He picked up his cane. _[That itself is strange. I am not talking about a full army of Champions and Rangers. Instead, it is a small group. Three Champions. About fifteen rangers. Zero is fighting two Champions and a number of Rangers in the graveyard.]_

"And Rob's only fighting one Champion?" Darius asked. His ghost coat eased down with his temperament.

_[Yes. He's fighting Zero's former apprentice, Abel.]_

For the first time knowing him, I feared for Rob. Rob was the best trainer in the world to me, even better than all of the Champions I met. Except Abel. Rob may have gotten eight badges but Abel won his Championship. He also had to be tough to get a ton of respect from other Champions.

I wasn't about to let him get arrested or killed, not while my Pokémon and I could move. As much as I didn't want to force them to help me, being a trainer won my conscience over. Abel's Dragonite probably would've eaten me, but I wasn't going to abandon Rob after all that he done for me. Might not have been much I could've done, but I had to try.

"Where is he?" I asked.

_[Go wherever you see fire in the sky.]_

That was enough info for me. "They're flying? Cool. Thanks."

Nina was discontent. "Ed, stay," she ordered. "Darius can take the rest of the members and go. And I think Eli's out there too."

Her words fell on flat ears. I never thought I'd give Nina the cold shoulder, but I did. When she finished, I dashed up the stairs. As I climbed, the violet color went away and everything was clear with a slight tint through the mask lenses.

I heard Darius shouting to the members back at the portal. "Everybody c'mon! We got one more thing to do before we get outta here!"

A part of me thanked him silently. The idea of going alone had started scaring me. I stopped in the room above and waited for Darius. Alice wasn't around, which was good. If Zero thought her helping would kill her, then she didn't need to be there.

Darius and the thirty-something members caught up with me. All of us were still in our masks. Some others like me wore black hoodies and different kinds of coats. Being dressed like a Team Zero member hid my identity perfectly.

We all made it outside. The dark, starry sky had a faded orange streak across the bottom from the lights of the city. Sparks of fire flickered to the right.

"You see that?" Darius shouted to everyone. "Half of you guys go with Ed here to where Rob is! The other half come with me to the city graveyard to help Zero!"

That was the plan. Darius nodded at me and took some members with him in a different direction.

A tall member patted my shoulder. "Let's do this?" he asked confidently.

I nodded. "Yeah, let's go!"

* * *

_The story behind this chapter is pretty funny. I started it a month ago before my new classes for the summer started. Then my classes proceeded to kick my ass, so I put the story down and picked it up every so often. After I was done with summer school, I continued to write. However, I ended up getting more than 32 document pages written, making this thing the longest thing I've ever written in my life! The only logical thing to do was to split the document into chapters 28 and 29, which explains why there's a cliffhanger in this chapter (I hate cliffhangers so much I'm considering posting 29 to feel better...)_

_Anyway, read and review! Click that button down there!_


	29. Chapter XXIX: Departure

_I didn't want Chapter 29 to be out so late, so here it is._

_Hopefully the hiatus didn't ruin the momentum. If you think that, probably look over 28 again? They WERE in the same document. I originally planned for 28 and 29 to be one chapter as crazy as that may sound!_

_At the moment, I'm working on the last chapter for Volume 1, so enjoy!_

* * *

_No. It's not that things are going to change. It's that things 'must' change._

_-Nina Frost_

* * *

**Chapter XXIX: Departure**

The run to where the fire was wore me out. A flying Pokémon would be next on my list to catch because my legs could only take me so far. Chasing the fire brought us all in the city limits and I caught my breath against a city mailbox. Nobody else was tired. Streams of visible breath came from all the masks and made us look demonic with half our 'faces' visible.

"If you used Ghost Pokémon like Zero, you could fly," A female member said. She became snide. "You're _obviously_ not used running around like this. And also…"

She grabbed my hood and pulled it over my head. Then she tucked my uncut hair into the sides.

"There, now you don't stick out. And damn Ed, you need someone to fix your hair because you look wilder than before."

Her mask and zipped hoodie prevented me from recognizing the stranger. The hair in her hood was dark through my lenses. "I know you?"

"Duh?" She said, lifting her mask just above her face. Her freckles and slightly jutted teeth on her bottom lip smiling at me was easily recognizable.

"Anne?" I asked, getting up. "That really you?"

"Of course it is, idiot. But it's not like Darius told you. I don't think he even knows I'm still in Team Zero. And Ned's on the other side."

I vaguely remembered her at first, but it came back to me that she was the girl with Darius and Ned. She was Ned's older sister and her Arbok tried to kill me, she treated me like shit, gave me some food and a nice conversation. All four of us had been in the Ruins of Alph.

Another flame shot across the sky. This time I could barely see Charizard's outline swirling around another flying figure shrouded in darkness.

"We'll talk later?" I asked hurriedly. "We gotta go."

Anne put her mask back on. "Yeah, let's get out of here."

If anyone looked out their window at the street, they'd see a ghastly group of people dashing down the road with masks out of a horror movie or a southern Sinnoh play. If they looked up in the sky, they'd see a light show with a Charizard blasting flames at a Dragonite and the two swirling around each other in a close game of Meowth and Rattata.

We all had reached the other side of the city outskirts. Climbing over a chain fence, we were in a camping reserve with groups of people standing out their trailers looking in awe at the battle going on. When they saw us, older folks either shouted profanities in our direction or avoided us by going inside or not getting in our way. Younger ones whooped and some even ran inside to get dressed in black and joined us. Since the actual Team Zero members ignored them as we made our way through, I ignored the new 'recruits.'

Then we found the true battlefield beyond the trees and hills – a wide pond surrounded by tin lampposts - and the water reflected Charizard's flames above from above. Abel's massive Dragonite swooped down and glided above the water. Water rose behind it in an unnatural formation, creating a tide that rose up like a hill. Tied-up boats banged against the dock and one was set ablaze as Charizard ceased his pursuit to dodge the water, his tail hitting it.

"There they are! On the other side!" A member shouted.

Near a lone shack across the pond from us, two Pokémon were in tight combat – Umbreon and a significantly larger, fat human-shaped Pokémon covered in decorative yellow and orange petals and flowers. The Pokémon delivered a gigantic fist down toward the ground that Umbreon dodged barely. Her red eyes glowed with an otherworldly nature, emitting crimson streaks of light as she hopped around.

Abel was immediately recognizable, jumping backward when Umbreon got too close. The two opponents were trying to have their Pokémon attack the other human. Abel was surprisingly agile in his red Champion's uniform.

Rob, however, donned a black overcoat, shoes, gloves, the works. His hair flowed wildly as he ran back and forth, keeping the distance between the dueling Pokémon and himself constant. His Team Zero mask was different from the others. From where I stood, it looked like he had a half-white half-black Venomoth crawling down his face.

With impressive skill, he made his voice loud and raspy. He was completely unidentifiable without Nahindelon saying anything.

"_Yeah, goddamn Champion! Motherfucker! Your fighting Pokémon can't even touch me and your Dragonite sucks so much ass!"_

That was him alright.

Some members took Zero Balls out and chucked them onto the water. The light emitted from just a few forced me to cover my eyes.

Then there were millions of high shrieks and the noise of hundreds of wings beating in the air. The light was gone and I looked up and nearly fell over from fright. Tiny, flapping Zubat were everywhere. Fluttering around Charizard and the Dragonite like a swirling, dark cloud.

Charizard flew higher. The flock of Zubat started gnawing on the Dragonite. Struggling to shake them off, it plunged into the pond. The resulting wave gained momentum and crashed on the banks. We were left soaked.

The Dragonite was gone I started my mad dash around the lake and left the other members and Charizard to keep distracting it.

Halfway, the ground nowhere near the bank became muddy. My steps became sloshes and I soon found myself sunk waist deep in mud. My heart started beating against my chest.

"What the fuck?" came out my mouth, wondering if I should struggle if I really was in quicksand.

I found the ground-altering culprit. Spikes barely sticking out the ground to look like a bunch of scattered, inconspicuous pebbles, Abel's Tyranitar had set a trap. Members screamed for help. "OH GOD THE GROUND IS EATING ME!" one shouted.

My legs were immovable. They were locked in place by thick, soft matter. Suddenly, the Tyranitar started to dig itself up out of the mud around it. With furious power and speed, it kicked up mud and soil off its back and arms. Debris started to cover me. The Pokémon was so close to me that my body moved as it shifted the ground around it to get up. My leg rubbed against its solid, soft and sandy body.

The Tyranitar managed to move me to where I was on my back with the mud slowly pulling me down. My hood was off and my hair had clods of mud all in it. Being forced to look up at the Pokémon frightened me and made me feel vulnerable. The Tyranitar could easy take a massive round, clawed hand and pressed down against my chest, having me suffocate in mud. Its earthen green layer of sand was intertwined with some of the earth like a continuous cloth. The towering behemoth ignored me.

Not waiting for a moment to hesitate, I managed to get my arm out the mud and dug into my jeans' pocket. Clawing through the mud with all my strength, I grabbed all four of my Poké Balls and tossed them to the surface. I activated all of them with one hand and slammed them as hard as I could against my chest. The result was all four of my Pokémon jumping away from the mud to avoid getting stuck. I noticed I wasn't sinking anymore.

June was in her cast in a ready position, Shox with his goofy e-collar sparkling with electricity, Nick brandishing his brand new claws together, and Alan barring his teeth with a trail of poison running from his curled lips. None of them were afraid of Abel's Tyranitar (thought I felt Alan was just pissed in general.) My Pokémon that had followed me through three badges and an epic ass-whooping were now going against a Pokémon that undoubtedly killed more rogue trainers, won more battles, and crushed bigger Pokémon than mine ever would.

The Tyranitar noticed them and let out a low menacing growl and its beady eyes glared at my Pokémon like insults. June made the first move and the rest did their thing. Perhaps Shredder messed up her fire abilities, but June dashed and made a cautious sidestep to dodge an attack that never came. She leapt in the air and attempted a roundhouse kick at the Tyranitar's head, coming short at the neck.

Her foot was swallowed into the sand shell. Without moving an inch, the Tyranitar enveloped June's leg in sand and swirled her right into the pond with a shriek and a sound splash.

_Oh god. _"JUNE!" I shouted.

I grabbed one of the empty Poké Balls and aimed at her struggling, crying figure. The red light enveloped her in time. I kissed the ball, thanking her for trying and promising her I'd stop being a stupid trainer. I put her in my coat.

The ground under Alan shot up, launching him into the woods behind us. Recovering, he dashed along with Shox toward the Tyranitar. Again, the ground rose from underneath them at an angle, causing them to stumble over.

The Tyranitar just stared at them with years of fighting experience. Alan and Shox started to sink into the ground as well.

Thinking quickly, I returned both of them so they'd be out the mud and attempted to let them out again. The Tyranitar lifted a small piece of ground that rapped my hand, making both Poké Balls plop into the mud. A small piece of ground rose and swept them away from me, even taking Nick's.

Then Nick came from above, landed, and leapt - he slashed the Tyranitar's throat. Sand particles flew off to the side, leaving a black gash on the behemoth's neck. Nick fluttered sideways, ready for anything.

The Tyranitar was surprised, now rubbing the scratch on its shell. A second was all it took for it to be filled with new sand. The wound was good as new.

Nick closed in, getting low to dodge swings. The Tyranitar didn't move. He allowed Nick to get underneath and use the top half of his claw to slice up the shell, all the way up to the center of the Tyranitar's blue belly.

Sand exploded from the cut and got in Nick's eye. He screeched in agony and staggered backwards. The noise he made echoed from his metal covering breaking. Then the Tyranitar snatched him in both hands by his thin waist like a doll.

A metallic cracking sound made me wince. Nick screeched again, flailing is arms around, cutting the Tyranitar's wrists with no success.

I reached for my only chance, activated her Poké Ball, and slammed it against my chest to let her out. The light uncovered June rolling around in a sort of seizure. Hitting the water was messing with her insides. I returned her for her safety.

Despite talking to Alice about it and seemingly settling it, I was feeling the complete stupidity I stepped in. Again I let my Pokémon fight a battle I knew I couldn't win, and the cost was to watch Nick get crushed by a gigantic Tyranitar's arms. I was torn between cheering him on to bust out and outright crying and admitting I was a failure.

And then the sand on the Tyranitar's head exploded. A harsh, heavy crack popped through the air, and Nick was dropped to the ground. Him landing on his knees made me praise God. Somebody had shot the thing.

The Tyranitar's black, thin lizard head was exposed above its bulky body. A guttural roar of rage escaped its mouth. Then the Tyranitar's chest exploded followed instantly by a gunshot.

It took a step away and raised plates from the ground to shield itself. The ground shifted upward, inadvertently lifting me out of my trap. I plopped and rolled over onto the somehow hardened mud, and then made a mad crawl to gather my Poké Balls, gathering them all and returning Nick to keep him safe. I promised to get myself one of those belts Alice had after this.

Then luck worked against me by having the damn Dragonite land a few meters away. The shock from the impact was so sudden, I was sent rolling past the mud and was submerged into the chilly water. Dead Zubat bobbed into me.

Then the water churned up the bank, making me go deeper into the pond. I struggled to keep my face above the surface. My mask collected water and messed up my breathing, so I threw it off to stay alive. Icy water went through my clothes, shocking me all over and making me numb. Memories of swimming back on Hoenn's beaches kicked in, but I was stuck in one place – the Dragonite was collecting water with its power. A huge column of water shot upward toward Charizard. Then three more. Charizard narrowly dodged them all with twisted flying maneuvers.

Getting my swimming back in shape and trying my best to ignore the cold water, I saw others joined in the fight. People with neon lights on camo uniforms, strange glowing batons twirling around, and a slew of dogs had the Team Zero members busy. They were Pokémon Rangers.

On the other side, Umbreon and Abel's fat yet swift Pokémon were still dueling. Both Rob and Abel were glancing at me. Nobody taunted the other anymore. Instead, Rob took a quick look around and above at the surrounding chaos.

He dropped a Poké Ball. The light resulting from it lit up the entire area and managed to curl its way down into the water with no sort of diffraction. For a moment, I could see the fish and rocks underneath.

The light went away and everyone and everything was recovering their eyesight.

Then the water erupted, making a tidal wave that lifted me into the air and threw me into the air. Gravity was nothing. I was an airborne amateur trainer caught in the middle of I didn't know how many fights. The feeling of ascension went through my head, like I hit some other plane where I wasn't in control over anything and was guided by all the chaos around me. Doing my best made me a leaf being blown every which way on a windy day.

I landed. The breath was knocked out of me and my head bounced against the ground. All of the lights did a small dance to the harsh ringing sound in my ears.

Then I was being dragged, and then put over a shoulder. Someone's back was in my face. I could smell some fancy, light cologne.

A bloodthirsty, guttural roar boomed. My ears rattled again and I felt a gust of wind push me, making me shiver. Weary, I looked up at where it came from.

As cold and tired as I was, I could see the giant sea snake clearly. Looking back, I can't tell if I wet myself there or not since I was soaked from swimming. Was I hallucinating? I asked myself. The thing was a colossus as big around as a family swimming pool and I didn't want to begin figuring out how long it was. The Gyarados probably was curled up just to fit in the pond, or at least I imagined so.

Then the serpent reeled over to get a closer look at whoever was carrying me. The face burned itself into my mind and I still see it to this day. The creature had to have been born without any way to show any sort of happiness and it didn't look like it gave a damn. The frowning mouth could've swallowed a car whole if it didn't rip it to shreds with its fangs – they were longer than I was tall. The Gyarados' eyes glowed bright yellow from reflecting the lights around the pond, giving it a frightening blank stare. The forehead was slanted downward making it look perpetually angry and the fins around the head stood erect. The emblem-like appendage on its head was lighter than the rest of the body. It demanded fear and respect.

"God you're a wreck," Abel said. He had me slung over his shoulder. He seemed a lot chiller than I was. My mind was tripping out at seeing the Pokémon. I couldn't respond. I was speechless from shock and from absorbing everything around me. Umbreon was still fighting. Rob was screaming something. Hollering and taunts came from across the pond with the rest of the Team Zero members fending off Rangers and their dogs. Charizard roared and the Dragonite roared back. The Tyranitar was barking, deciding to help with taking out Umbreon. Slabs of earth shot out of the ground to block the bullets shot at it from the hidden gun.

"Your friend better not be planning anything stupid," Abel chided. "Grab my coat and hold on tight. Need to get you out of here."

He shouted. "November! Hold the Gyarados down while I get out of here!"

November stared up at the Gyarados and the Gyarados looked mockingly at the Tyranitar. The size difference didn't matter. Abel's November raised an earthen shell around her body, and lifted and readied her foot, howling louder and louder.

Gyarados submerged, tossing water everywhere. Umbreon slipped on mud and Abel's fighting Pokémon took the opportunity to snatch her up in one hand, and then slammed her like a football. Charizard soared down and blasted the enemy with fire in passing, setting him ablaze.

"Spiros!" he shouted to the Dragonite chasing Charizard. "Help Kline and keep fighting that Charizard! I'll be RIGHT BACK!"

Abel made a mad dash into the woods with me slung over his shoulder. Branches cracked under his feet as he ran. Back at the pond, I could hear the Gyarados resurface and bellow. Then a shockwave popped my ears as everything shook like an earthquake. Sounds of trees being broken and people fighting and in the campsite screaming and cursing echoed through the woods.

"Where are you taking me?" I managed to get out my mouth, coughing. My words were jumbled and harsh. Something trickled down my face toward my mouth. I let out a sneeze which trigged a massive headache.

"Out of here," he said. "Somewhere safe."

He continued through the woods, stopping for a moment to carry me in his arms. The change relieved me because blood was collecting in my head making me feel light and woozy.

Then he stopped. I opened my eyes. A man with a moth mask like Rob's stood in front of us with a pistol. A large rifle was strapped around his back like he was a hunter. This was the second time Eli helped me out with a gun. Beside him was a shorter girl in a black coat and a similar mask, with her brown hair running down the sides. Her hands trembled as she pointed another pistol at Abel.

"Give us the kid so I won't have to shoot you in the head," he said. He raised the pistol higher. His false raspy tone wasn't as good as Rob's. "Though that might make things _a lot_ easier for me and my people."

"And Abel," Zero's voice said, "you're out of useable Pokémon I think. November, Spiros, Kline are back at the pond. Muriel and DeVonte were helping out at the graveyard and poor Zuzu can't even lift his spoons."

All of a sudden, I was snatched away from Abel's arms into the light grip of a cold and massive, bandaged hand. I looked up at Aven's one glowing yellow eye that twisted around like a cautious overseer.

Eli went over to Abel and put the gun sharply into his head. "Come with us."

Then Aven started going back to the pond, weaving past trees. I looked around for Zero but saw no trace.

"You don't hide your voice," Abel said, holding his hands up as Eli kept him in line. "Or you trying to taunt me like that or what?"

"No Abel," Zero said casually. "Victor Frost and I are two different people. I'm nicer than he is. Also, he took a vacation with his daughter. He said he'd send us postcards."

Then I realized his voice was next to me. I looked up and a man in a black, long coat hovering next to Aven. His hood was up and his face was covered in an unnatural pitch, black darkness. As we got closer to the pond, the lights revealed his coat's dark violet colors and the girl's heavy brown hair.

Charizard and Spiros were going head to head in the sky. Spiros was blasting a strange blue flame from his mouth Charizard made sure to dodge. On the ground, the earth was torn and plates made jagged rips across the banks. Spikes were sticking out of the water and the Gyarados was bleeding out the mouth while indignantly standing, staring down Novemeber. Half her armor was gnarled and twisted with chunks of it dripping. The Gyarados managed to soak some of her. Across the pond, the Rangers were fending off flocks of Zubat with their batons and the Team Zero members were using personal Pokémon and knives to fight the dogs.

Kline, the fat yellow fighting Pokémon, launched himself at Eli for having a gun at Abel's head. Then he was sent flying into the pond. I missed what happened, or so I thought.

"Make sure nothing goes wrong," Zero said. He descended to the ground. Small cracks slithered from under his feet, knocking particles of dirt into the air.

Then he broke into a run onto the pond as if he was a mystical being, placing perfect steps onto the water's surface, toward the rangers. As he lifted each step, a small strip of ice remained. I watched as he started his cleaning up of the place.

With a sweep of his arm, all of the Rangers and their dogs were lifted into the air like puppets lifted by strings.

A massive red light enveloped the pond. Rob returned his Gyarados and came over to us, exhilarated. "Abel, you sure do know how to fight," he said in his fake voice. "I'm all excited. My blood's rushing." Then he looked up at me through his mask. He fell silent. Abel said nothing.

Zero made a dash to November. She made a spike shoot out of the ground next to her aimed at him, but he glided over the water and kicked some right at her. More chunks of her shell dripped as she readied another spike.

Swerving out the way, Zero shoved a fist through the softened part of her armor. Before she could shift it to possibly break his arm, her shell completely exploded into mud and sand, revealing her body – completely frozen and crystallized. Frost crept up to her exposed, fearful face, petrifying it.

Above, Spiros watched November get decimated. He stopped chasing Charizard and swooped down toward Zero. Frost trailed from his hands as his hooded head looked up at the sky toward the furious Dragonite.

Charizard took the chance, intercepting Spiros, and unleashed a stream of fire from his mouth. Spiros backhanded Charizard with his massive arm, sending him crashing into a tree.

The distraction was all Zero needed. He got back onto the water. A patch of ice grew from under him and started covering the whole pond. His body was hunched over and his hands were inches apart. A sphere of white light grew in his hands, emitting trails of wispy frost. Within seconds, the sphere grew into the size of a basketball. Crystal ice slithered from the pond onto Zero's legs and gradually grew to his arms.

Spiros turned around. Zero threw his arms out in front of him and a beam of slim white light and wisps shot out and hit the dragon in the center of his chest. The impact made Spiros explode into a massive frozen crystal with jagged, symmetrical spikes.

The crystal fell and rolled into the pond. Zero raised a hand and the water around it lifted the frozen dragon and froze itself. Spiros' face was stuck between showing worry of being attacked from the back and the surprise of being frozen within a second.

For the final move, Zero caught Kline lifting himself out of the water. Zero froze the water around its waist, trapping him like how November trapped me in the mud. He punched the ice around him and broke himself free.

Frustrated, Zero made a small wave to crash into Kline. Then he froze Kline stiff.

Eli nudged Abel's head with the gun. "Return your Pokémon. Throw one out and you're dead."

Without any retaliation, Abel opened his coat and took the Poké Balls from his belt. He returned all of his Pokémon, even taking the ice that trapped them. He locked them onto his belt and put his hands back up in the air. Abel was beat by Rob and Zero.

"What…" Alice's voice said from behind the girl's mask. She wasn't bothering hiding her voice. "How'd he do that? Oh my God…"

Rob nudged her. She looked up at him and he motioned his head toward a glum Abel. She coughed. "I've never seen him do that before," she said, sounding like a Politoed. A laugh came out my chest, making my lungs ache. Eli shook his head and sighed, readjusting the gun in his hand.

"I don't know who he's fooling," Abel said through gritted teeth. "He's a goddamn old man in denial. All he's going to do is fuck himself up and bring you all with him. And if he's lucky he'll probably kill millions of people because of whatever idea he has. Little girl, that apprentice mask you're wearing means your days are numbered."

"And your seconds are numbered since you won't shut up," Eli taunted.

"We've been in this position how many times?" Abel asked in a worn yet mocking tone. "You'd think you'd tell me your real name by now. If you ask me, I don't even think you're a trainer. Why do you follow Frost – oh, I mean Zero around? It's been about three years and you still haven't found anything better to do."

He sardonically laughed at his own joke. Eli chuckled. He raised his gun above Abel's head and fired off a shot. The gunshot made Abel hesitate and almost stumble over. Alice jumped and I snapped into full attention from shock.

Eli shoved the gun hard enough in Abel's skull to make him fall over in the mud. Abel didn't bother trying to get up.

"Abel deserves a bit more respect than that, I think," Zero lulled, coming over to us on the bank. Behind him were more Team Zero members carrying two gagged and tied up champions – Roger and Miranda. Darius was in the back with his arms folded smugly. Rob was motionless.

"Here," Zero said. He nodded toward the members. They tossed Roger and Miranda next to Abel in the mud. Both of their yelps of pain were muffled.

Zero knelt next to Abel's head. "Get up and talk," he said with surprising terseness.

He held a hand out for Abel. Abel looked up at it with sheer contempt and knocked it away as he sat up. Before Eli could get in Abel's face, Zero had an open hand up to keep him away.

"So what do you want to know?" Abel asked, staring down at the two tied-up Champions. Miranda's blonde hair was mixed with mud and blood and her normally clear face was bruised and scraped. Roger had a single scratch on his cheek.

"You suspected Team Zero was planning something in Ecruteak, but your attempt to do anything was half-assed at best. Three Champions and a bunch of Rangers is nothing," Zero chastised. "Why did you bother attacking?"

Zero looked over at Roger and Miranda. I could only see the back of his hood, but I could imagine how the two felt seeing his unnaturally dark veil. I was still in Aven's grip and I was even afraid to see Zero face-to-face.

"We would've killed them easy," Zero said.

"You don't kill anyone," Abel muttered. "At least that's still respectable about you."

Zero chuckled.

"What?" Abel asked, raising a brow. Zero fell silent and stared at him, probably smiling behind his dark veil.

"_What?"_ Abel blurted.

"Nothing," Zero said. "But there are nastier folks than me out there. You think I'm the bad guy when they're all around kidnapping trainers and putting them in that Dark Market."

Zero stood up and put his hands to his hips. "You know the Dark Market is bad in Goldenrod, right? You could be a real hero doing something about that than following me around. And I think they got something awful brewing. I feel like they're going to try and mess us both up." He cleared his throat. "By us, I mean me metaphorically representing Team Zero and you metaphorically representing the garbage kennel that's the Pokémon League."

Abel stared at Zero with contempt and curiosity. "Like what?" he asked curtly.

Zero waved a gloved hand in the air in confusion. "I honestly don't know. But I do know they're screwing with you more than they're screwing with me. They're even sweet to me when they feel like it or see enough cash. But you obviously knew that Team Zero liberates trainers from the Dark Market. I know being a Champion through and through can make you blind and stupid but I think you know that much."

Zero shook his head. "I thought you were smarter, Charles. But forgive my tangent. Now tell me why you attacked the way you did. Why did you only have three Champions and handful of Rangers?"

Abel frowned and sulked heavily in defeat. "Stats. The League wants stats from all the Champions because _apparently_ we're not doing our job in cutting down on Pokémon-related threats."

Zero nodded in understanding. "I see. So you were here investigating…. Let me guess. You get info Victor Frost's at the Lake of Rage, figure he'd come back, assume me and him are the same person," – he wagged his finger – "and then attempt to trail Frost and you run into me, and then attack me."

Zero sighed. "I thought you were better than that. I'm telling you, retire early, get a family, and settle down in a nice estate. I don't see a ring on your finger so I'm going to assume you're seeing a pretty woman who you make very happy and who makes you very happy. You're getting too old for this."

Abel didn't respond. He looked over his shoulder at the Rangers still floating in the air. He sniffed, his nose was running. He rubbed his sleeve against the top of his lip.

"You know what, Zero?" Abel asked in a low tone. "I'm going to give you a heads up because I know you mean well enough, but you're just too fucking senile to know common sense."

He stared fiercely at Zero. "I suggest you get back to that museum. The cavalry will be there to pick up your daughter at any minute. But let me guess, she won't be there because you were relocating all of the Johto Team Zero members."

Zero slowly lowered his arms and stepped back. Abel furiously stared up at Eli's gun. "I suggest you get to running. I don't think you want to be caught with a gun in a Champion's face."

"Then why didn't they show up earlier?" Zero asked innocently.

Abel kept silent. Zero laughed. "Oh damn. All this time, I hoped you were important."

Then he nodded at Eli and then addressed everyone. "My friends, it's time to get outta here! We should leave before Charles becomes a vigilante and comes after us with a shotgun."

The members cheered in victory. Some stood over Roger and Miranda to ridicule them with taunts and insults. Rob yelled at them to leave them alone and to hurry up. Eli followed Zero through the woods and Aven finally let me down. My legs were wobbly and weak but Rob held onto my shoulders. Abel watched everyone pass by, and focused on me. His face was unreadable but I knew he could see mine perfectly. He didn't seem mad or upset staring at me, which made me nervous. I was in Team Zero as far as he was concerned. Miranda and Roger probably saw me too. I could picture Miranda getting disturbingly excited over thinking I was in Team Zero.

Everyone ran. Once the police sirens hit our ears, some split up. Keeping up with Rob was hard, but we managed to make it across the city without getting caught. Everyone was back together again once we made it to the museum, except for Zero and Eli.

"They're okay," Rob answered when I asked about them. We were hurrying down the stairs to the basement. "They'll be here soon, hopefully. They're keeping the police and Abel's 'cavalry' busy, I think. C'mon."

I stopped. Rob halted a few steps below me, surprised and annoyed.

"What's wrong?"

A combination of the cold getting to me and having to run messed up my thinking. Perhaps it was being in the museum giving me frightening clarity.

"Rob."

"_What, man? We gotta hurry up!"_

"What am I going to do? Abel saw my face and he thinks I'm in Team Zero."

Rob impatiently rolled his eyes. He grabbed my arm and pulled me. "Dude. _Come on._"

I followed him down. The portal's lights were dimmer as they lit the bottom floor. "Through the portal?"

"Mmhm."

I stopped again and snatched my hand away from Rob. "What am I going to do in Sinnoh?"

Rob flipped around and raised his voice. "What the hell are you gonna do here, huh? What are you gonna tell the Champions when they catch you? You're not in Team Zero and you just wanted to help them out?"

He made sense, but was he over-thinking it? Or was I not thinking enough? "What can they do to me?"

Rob slapped his forehead in disappointment. "Ed, don't be stupid. Team Zero may as well be damn terrorists or somethin'. The moment you helped out wearing that mask, you pretty much fucked yourself. And then you manage to lose it and Abel _and _Roger _and _Miranda get a good look at you."

He went down the rest of the stairs. I stopped again. "I tried to help you out. Nahindelon said Zero didn't care."

Rob chuckled sarcastically. "Yeah? And look what good it did. Just come on. We'll figure out somethin'."

The irony bit me - Rob was thinking when I wasn't.

We entered the portal room. The violet light no longer bothered my bare eyes. The portal had gotten twice as small and half the number of Beldum before kept it open. In a group going on ahead through the portal, a masked girl waved at me.

"You ought to come with us, Ed!" Anne shouted before the light took her completely. "Didn't they already see…your…face….?" Her voice trailed off like an echo across a great distance.

Rob counted off the remaining few members. He'd be in the last group going in, I figured. "Inez, Nina go through already? Nahindelon?" he asked.

Inez took a longer than expected second to respond. _[Yup. She and the weird guy went in about ten minutes ago. When you gonna jump in too?] _Her telepathic voice went from a sarcastic, intelligent woman's to a whiny, preteen girl's.

Someone patted my shoulder. I turned around and Alice hugged me tight.

"Why are you so garbage with your Pokémon?" she rambled. Her mask slightly muffled her angry, concerned voice. "Why the hell did you think you could take on that Tyranitar and why didn't you come and get me when you and the others ran to help Rob and Zero?"

She looked up at Rob. "Why didn't you want me there? Why the hell would I stay in here and not do anything?"

Rob scanned across the large concrete room. Us three remained.

"It was Zero's call but I agreed with him," Rob said hurriedly. "Alice, you're reckless and you're a bomb ready to be set off. You would've used all your Pokémon and got them killed. You'd probably get yourself arrested or killed too."

Alice threw herself off of me. "_What?_ How you figure that? I literally told Ed today if I was him when he fought me for the Fog Badge, I would've given up way sooner."

Rob took off his mask and wiped his sweaty brow, looking over the both of us. "Yeah? Well you didn't mind using all four of your Pokémon against that Venusaur back when we were comin' to Ecruteak."

She threw her mask off and stomped toward him, staring up at him with her fists balled. Her teeth were clenched and her sweaty hair stuck to her face from all the running. "Because _somebody_ had to do something! _What were YOU doing?_"

Zero came from behind still masked in pitch darkness and knelt down to pick up Alice's mask. "He was saving you," he calmly answered. He stood up and handed her the mask. With a closer look, it was more like a heart than an upside down moth, but with jagged, elegant teeth-like protrusions at the top.

She stared at the mask indignantly. "I tried," she murmured. She snatched the mask from Zero's hand. I half expected him to backhand her across the face since he was the leader of Team Zero, but instead he attempted to place a gentle hand on her head. She knocked it away and ran over to the portal, turning around and oddly standing there as if to dare Zero and Rob to stop her from going in.

The light behind her darkened her image, giving her a demonic image. "Why are you sending me to Hoenn? You said I'd be an apprentice!"

Zero put his hands akimbo. "I told you already," he said in a voice that implied everything was obvious. "I have people down there that can help you. Good Gym Leaders and a bunch of good trainers to help you out. The lady you'll be staying with has walked the same path you're on now. She'll be a far better guide than I ever could."

Alice rubbed her nose and looked back into the one-way portal. "How long do I get to stay in Sinnoh?"

"A day roughly," Zero said. "It wasn't my doing. Ellen picked out the plane tickets. But I promise you she could win a Pokémon League Championship if she decided to on a whim. She's everything you could possibly hope for."

Rob had been looking over his shoulder at the stairs impatiently. "Zero, Champions and Rangers will be storming the place in a second. Can you throw her in there?"

"Hey Rob! _Fuck you_," she spat at him. Then she turned over to me. She took a breath to calm herself down again. "What are you going to do?"

The urgency had pulled Rob's last straw. "Goddamn! Alice! If you want-"

"Alice. Everyone. Just get in," Zero interrupted. "We'll all sit down and talk once we get to Sinnoh. Alice, I'd rather not leave you here. You either, Ed. Let's go. Inez, we're done here."

"Finally," Rob said. He went up to the portal past a stunned Alice and entered the light. One by one, Beldum detached themselves from the light and entered the portal, making it smaller and dimmer.

Alice growled, avoiding a Beldum floating into the portal, going in herself. The portal was now a tall triangle held by three Beldum.

"She's quite the belligerent child, isn't she?" Zero asked as we approached the light. My feet were on autopilot. I didn't know what belligerent meant.

"I dunno if this is the right thing to do," I whined. "What am I going to do in Sinnoh? I've never been to Sinnoh."

Zero rubbed his chin, getting rid of any fear I had of him snapping like Rob did. "Like I said, we'll talk about it there. But look at it this way for now: the museum is about to be filled with police and Champions."

He walked me over to the portal with a gentle hand to my back. "When we go through this thing, Nina's Beldum will cut it off and we won't be tracked. Now, you're not in Team Zero, but you already know the Champions don't care about that. They think you are, even though you just wanted to help a friend out. They're going to hunt you, Ed."

I looked up at him, afraid. That was the only logical thing the Champions would do.

"And then Riley's going to keep hunting me," I admitted.

"Not just the Riley kid, but the Syndicate. The bastards have a tendency to put a bounty on any kid that manages to get out of their system. Rob had Eli get you but there's more to it than that."

Fear of being in Sinnoh went away, replaced by fear of staying in Johto alone. I would've been long dead if Rob had never found me getting attacked by that Skarmory, and he wouldn't have been around if he wasn't in Team Zero.

So what was the best thing I could do? Obviously jump in the portal and never look back. And that's what I did. I walked through and felt nothing. However, instead of walking through to the other side of the light, my eyes sank and I was overcome with immense tiredness. My legs gave. All my weariness came back and my body shut down. I didn't even care that I collapsed on the concrete.

Somebody shook my shoulder. Rob spoke in my ear. "Ed, it's time to wake up."

I tiredly opened my eyes, seeing darkness. I shifted myself onto my back. Whatever I was laying on felt like a bunch of blankets. Rob's outline was barely visible above me and I couldn't tell what kind of room I was in. A burning smell got in my nose and a warm, cozy feeling was everywhere.

I got up and popped my neck. "What happened?" I asked. My throat flared up and made me cough.

Rob went over to a wall and flipped on a light. I rubbed my eyes. "You stepped through the portal and you were knocked out longer than anyone else," he said. He chuckled. "But now you can at least get some sleep without worrying about Champions or some crazy kid stalking you."

I saw I was on the floor sitting on a bunch of quilts. Getting the sleep out my eyes, I noticed Rob and I were in an empty room with cardboard boxes to the side. The door out had a boarded up window.

My head felt heavy and I couldn't breathe out my nose. "Rob, I don't feel good."

He knelt down next to me and put a hand on my forehead. "Yeah, you're burning up. You probably got a fever from falling in that water. Just take June out and stay close to her. You'll be alright."

I ran my hand through my hair. It needed to be cut and washed. "She fell in the water too. She was going crazy like when Alice's Shredder hit her with bubbles," I said quietly. Mentioning it made my regret over letting that happen to her heavier inside me.

"Oh damn, sorry. I didn't see that," Rob said. He got up. "Well let's go outside. I'll get Charizard out and he'll get June all hot again, and then she can help you out."

Rob helped me onto my feet and kept me from falling over. Outside the room, long rows of lights hung from the ceiling. Stacks of steel cargo boxes made hallways where Zero members mingled about, sitting on their belongings. We were high above, standing on metal grating.

"Let's go on the roof," Rob said. I followed him down the platform and up a dark stairwell in the wall. The warmth of the warehouse was gone and I was shivering again. I smelled salt in the air.

Our footsteps crunched against the gravel on the roof. The night sky was murky orange and heavy smog blocked out the stars. Giant cranes with blinking lights going down their necks and stacks of cargo boxes towered everywhere. More members were on the roof lounging around self-made fires in steel barrels.

Rob let Charizard out, who stretched his wings and yawned fire out his nostrils. Without having to look at my Poké Balls, I reached into my pocket and picked the one that simply felt like June. I dropped it and let June out. Fortunately, she wasn't flailing around like before, but she sat on the gravel and curled up to stop her trembling, tightening her arm sling. She made me notice my teeth were chattering. In the distance, a ship's horn sounded.

"Can you warm her up?" Rob asked Charizard. Rob motioned for me to come over to where he was, away from June.

Charizard looked down at June's pitiful figure, as if he could relate to what she was feeling. Opening his jaw, he let a stream of fire loose that covered June completely. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch.

I almost got nervous watching, but June shot up to her feet. Charizard stopped blowing fire and June started spraying streams of flame from both hands around her feet.

"She's warming herself up," Rob said. He nodded over to Charizard, who stretched his wings and took to the air. Charizard flew off to a crane nearby and circled around it. Other members' flying Pokémon joined him.

After a few minutes of blasting fire down at her feet, June was more or less back to normal. The gravel around her glowed red as she walked on it to me to be at my side. I scratched the base of her neck, causing her to rub her head against my forearm and radiated her warmth all the way up to my shoulder. She was next to the scar I got from getting attacked by that Skarmory outside of Cherrygrove. June had gotten scratched too, but her feathers covered the scar up. I had never forgotten our run-in with the Skarmory, but a lot had happened since then that I focused on. Like watching a kid die and having to cope with that. Like being kidnapped and almost getting killed two or three times. By this time I honestly lost count.

Rob buttoned up his overcoat. I noticed he wore a white scarf as he tightened it and sat down cross-legged. "Sit down with her. Hold on to her and she'll keep you warm. Your fever'll go away quick."

I did as I was told. Having June sit down in my lap, I wrapped my arms around her stomach and put my head on her shoulder. Her heat was so comforting, I felt like going back to sleep again.

"Tomorrow, we gotta head to Hearthome. Zero's already there getting things set up," Rob said, watching Charizard perch on a stack of cargo. He was next to a giant smokestack from a ship.

I let go of June and stood up. The cold got to me but I had to see water at least. I half-walked half-jogged all the way to where the boat was.

The water was as black as Zero's veil back in Ecruteak. The tiny lights from ships and cranes reflected off of its surface. Beyond the cranes and flat, freighter ships in the distance, there was nothing but water and dark sky.

June came up from behind me and slipped her hand into mine. She joined me in watching the water.

"I gotta be honest," Rob said, joining us. "I looked at a map of Sinnoh, like, a day or two ago. All I know is we're in a place called Pastoria and I have no idea what's what around here."

He folded his arms and smirked to himself. "But I heard Sinnoh schoolgirls were damn hot though. Like university girl-hot."

I chuckled. A sense of defeat and submission settled itself in my heart. Sooner or later, I'd get a taste of Sinnoh life outside of a television. Johto was thousands and thousands of miles away, along with a home that wasn't mine anymore. But did that matter? I asked myself.

I tightened my grip around June's. For once, after everything that happened, I found myself smiling and actually content with being away from Johto.

* * *

_Well that's done. Hopefully it was okay. The action may have been weird but I'm still looking into it. Zero's powers will come into question too, so no worries about that._

_And as for reviews...well, as long as people acknowledge they're reading it, I'm fine! I just like getting alerts about reviews more than story/author alerts, but that's cool too. I just like knowing people are reading._

_So read...AND DO WHATEVER :D!  
_


	30. Chapter XXX: Motivations

_So here it is, the unannounced revision to the ending. I've been working on it this past week so it's pretty fresh. I just finished editing it. Hopefully FF will sent out a notification email even though I just removed the former epilogue and that "I'm back" announcement._

_Yeah, it's been a long while. School became a huge priority on top of other issues going on my life. The reason I came back to write Pokemon 0 was to go back doing something that made me happy. Yeah, things got that bad. So here I am. Hopefully I gave this chapter the necessary TLC. Also, I don't think this chapter requires extensive background knowledge of the story, so don't worry if things were forgotten. It has been a while. I understand._

_There'll be more housekeeping notes at the bottom of this chapter._

_Enjoy!_

_._

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_._

**Chapter XXX: Motivation**

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Rob shook me awake and asked if I would rather sleep next to June or in a real bed. I drowsily got up. My muscles were still aching from swimming. Rob guided me around the roof in my sleepy stupor, then I was suddenly in a car. I fell back asleep.

I woke up in a twin-sized bed over the covers still in my coat and shoes, staring at sunlight seeping through closed blinds. Next to the window was a wooden desk with some Pokeballs and my backpack on it.

I sat up and yawned while I looked around. The room was empty aside from a metal nightstand and an open chest at its side.

The room's door was cracked slightly open. That's when I caught whiff of the faint smell of apple pie.

I got out the bed and figured to follow the smell. If Rob dropped me off in some random place where I could smell baked goods, chances are I was safe.

Outside my room was a hallway with several other rooms similar to mine. All of them were empty. Across the hall was another wing of rooms. Between the two halls was a small square lobby with a couch and a flat screen TV mounted on the wall.

From the lobby, I found myself going downstairs into a large kitchen with silver pots and pans hanging from the ceiling. There I found Rob watching something through an oven's window. Zero and a man were sitting at a table talking with one another. Everyone was in civilian clothes.

The stranger noticed me first. He had a mop of blonde hair on top of his pale, yet wide rugged and toned frame. "Ah, so this is Ed?" He said. Then he laughed from the depths of his chest. His heavy Eastern Sinnoh accent and bellowing laughter reminded me I wasn't in Johto anymore. "My God, you took on Abel's Tyranitar? That monster has been schooling trainers since before your parents ever thought you'd exist."

"Hey! At least he tried," Rob defended, then slightly chuckling. "What's up Ed? Feeling better?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I feel wide awake." I blinked. "Where are we anyway?"

"We're in the Hearthome City gym," answered Zero. The polo he wore was a curious light shade of purple. It fit him too perfectly. "And we are currently discussing your future living conditions."

"Future living conditions?" I repeated, confused.

"Yup," said the stranger. "I'm Daniel Attenborough. I'm the Gym Leader of Veilstone City and my pal Zero here has asked me to look after you. As long as you do the Team Zero jobs I give you…"

I felt farther away from Johto once he said that. I was still wearing the black hood.

"I'm in Team Zero now?" I asked innocently. Zero glanced over at Rob. Rob took in a deep breath.

"Watch my pie," he told the two. "Ed, come with me. We gotta talk."

Zero stared at Rob like he had said something foul. Mr. Attenborough laughed deeply again. I followed Rob out the kitchen through a different exit and found the main battling area for the gym. Several scrolls with ancient scriptures hung off of tall black stones next to oil lamps. These stones were put in every corner of a battle pen. Despite the size of the gym, only a few people were training with their ghost Pokémon.

"Right now this gym's closed off to the public," Rob said. "The gym leader's having it renovated, which obviously, is a cover. We're currently trying to relocate all the Team Zero members from Johto somewhere in Sinnoh. The last thing we need is someone snooping around accidentally."

"Zero controls this gym too?" I asked.

"Somewhat. Lady Lydia runs it and she's in control of all of Team Zero's Sinnoh operations. She helped organize this whole plan, but I dunno where she is now. But yeah, Zero kind of lets the high-ranking members run everything."

How big was Team Zero anyway? I wondered. Did Team Zero really have holds in all four of the regions? And Gym Leaders were employed by the Pokémon League.

"I don't get it," I admitted as I followed Rob up some bleachers to sit down. I was going to ask about the Gym Leaders, but there was a more important question. "Am I in Team Zero now?"

Rob didn't answer immediately. He stared down the street at passing traffic. He had heavy red bags of skin under his sleepy eyes.

"Only if you want to," he said. "I know we kinda talked about this already, but that was before anything really crazy happened."

Rob began his explanation. His voice became quieter and his tone grim. "So the deal is that if you decide to stay with Team Zero for good, Zero promised me you would be taken care of just as long as you follow orders. You're at the beginning of being a legit trainer. I see that and Zero sees that. I say you do whatever you want, but Zero wants good trainers to help him out. Most of Team Zero is kids who didn't bother training their first Pokémon, but went straight to living off the streets. You actually have the drive to get badges. To get better. He wants people who know how to use Pokémon to hold off Champions and Rangers."

That made sense to me. "What kind of orders will I have to do?" I asked a bit too absolute.

Rob shook his head. "I couldn't tell you, but I've tried to tell him to have you do simple things like being a lookout for bigger jobs. Or simply talking and getting info from people. But he sees too much potential in you I think. I'll be honest – I'm afraid he's going to make you a good trainer so you can do things I do."

His gaze sunk. His unshaven face and matted hair made him look older. "And I'm afraid for you man. It's one thing if I go head to head against legendary Champions and all that, but I just don't want you to mess up and get caught. Not saying you aren't a capable trainer or won't be one, but I spend most of my time trying to make sure Team Zero members are able to do their jobs right. I'm muscle too, and I've been called in a few times to scare people. Even had to fight off a few people. Hurt a few people."

His voice trailed off for a moment.

"I know Zero talked to you before you jumped through Nina's portal, but I have reason to believe he sweet talked you. He can be that way. He's absurdly influential and always gets what he wants. And I'm telling you all this because I think this is the first time I've never trusted Zero about something."

He turned his head and stared at me with sleep-encrusted eyes. His face was pensive. "I want you to stay with Team Zero, but I don't want you doing anything crazy. I think I'm running out of ways to bargain with Zero," he said.

He violently raked his hair with his hands. Then he turned to stare me in the eye. His black eyes contained a genuine sparkle. "I want you to join Team Zero because I trust you."

Words were lost. The Rob who wanted me to make my own decisions while giving me a guiding push had stepped away. A new, desperate Rob was in his place. Probably the more genuine one.

"If you chill here in Sinnoh, you'll be safe from the Rocket Syndicate and that Riley kid. Champions are still trying to figure out what happened in Ecruteak and the Pokémon League's enforcement in Sinnoh is nowhere as strict as Johto's or Kanto's. That and…and…"

His voice trailed off again. Then returned. "And when things get even crazier, I want you to have my back," he said finally, firmly. He looked off into space and nodded to nobody.

After all that, I came to my decision in a second. I held out my hand and balled it into a fist.

"Rob, how many times have you saved my life? Three times? Four? Or maybe five. On top of owing you, you've become my best friend these past three months. We've gone through too much. You don't need to ask me to look out for you."

Our fists connected. I still remember that fist pound years and years ago. That's how you know it was a good one.

I was given a new reason to become a better trainer - to protect my friends when they needed me. This was something I would see on Saturday morning cartoons with the kid heroes getting super powered up from friendship. Perhaps they were onto something. Wanting to help someone you care about is a strong motivator.

"And don't you worry about a thing," Rob assured. "I don't care what Zero says, I'm getting you strong. David and I are going to have you jacked up. And we'll make you into a crazy good trainer!"

I pictured myself taking on multiple ace trainers at once effortlessly with June, Shox, Nick, and Alan soloing multiple Pokémon. "I can get onboard with that!" The mental image was frame worthy, but there was a nagging question in my head.

"But what made you suddenly ask me to have your back?" I asked, a bit worried.

Rob leaned back and watched two trainers get into a small battle with a Gastly and a very fat Haunter. He calmed down but his eyes darted around the gym.

"I'm sorry, but it's one thing I can't tell you," he said. Then he smirked in relief. "But I do feel like everything's going to work out just fine."

He was being ambiguous on purpose. Then I recalled a conversation we had when we first got into Ecruteak. My body felt light from excitement.

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "Are you talking about that thing you mentioned back in Ecruteak? God I forgot the words, but you sort of talked about putting an end to the Amber Act for sure. Is that what you need help with?"

I was ready to hop on board whatever plan Rob had. It could've been the craziest thing, but I would've given anything to help out. Getting badges didn't matter. The Amber Act going away did.

"Rob's not going to let you in on it. You'll be literally putting your life at risk," said Nina from next to us. Rob and I nearly fell from our seats from jolting in surprise.

"Woah, where'd you come from?" Rob asked her.

Nina was decked out in some stylish clothes with a big black scarf around her neck and tall leather boots. In her hands was a plate of steaming apple pie with a fork and a knife.

"Hey that better not be mine," he said.

She sneered. "Consider it payment for that _amazing crafty maneuver _of getting upwards of fifty or sixty people across The Great Sea."

Rob frowned. "Well…thanks I guess."

Nina laughed in response. "Yup." She took a bite of her slice. "And Ed, before I forget…"

She put her pie down and pulled an envelope from her purse, then handed it to me. "It's from Alice."

The envelope was thick. Inside were a bunch of notebook sheets. Alice wrote me a lengthy letter.

"I didn't read it, but I think she'd appreciate it if you read it in privacy," Nina said.

I barely got past 'Dear Ed' when Nina stopped me. "No seriously," she said. "You might want to read it somewhere else. Besides I gotta talk to Rob about some secret stuff."

"Hmph, well there's no need to tell him to go away," Rob said standing up. "Let me go and make sure my pie is all in the kitchen, because I have this _crazy_ feeling that it's not because a certain someone ate everything and left a single slice just to lie to me."

Nina got up with him and rolled her eyes. "Something like that. Anyway, we might have to head out soon."

They got into their conversation and climbed down the bleachers toward where the kitchen was. I counted the sheets in my hand – three pages covered front and back. That was the first time anyone had ever written anything that long for me that was personal.

From the corner of my eye, sun shined down from the circular windows. I wanted to go outside since it was daytime. I went back to my room and changed into different clothes, sort of procrastinating on what news Alice would have written so much about.

The moment I pulled my Pokémon out my coat and put them on my bed was when I started thinking of myself as a fool. Things had gone by so fast, but I never sat down to think about how June and Shox felt about Alice. Other trainers probably wouldn't have cared, but I did. We were a family and went through too much already. I wasn't going to leave Rob hanging or my Pokémon.

The memory of kissing Alice often went by in my head and I would smirk in satisfaction, but now it felt sour. That led to me realizing she never gave me the apology I wanted. No, deserved.

With some new clothes on and a black sweater my mom definitely did not pack in my bag, I headed out to get a good look at Hearthome on my own. The cold air hit me hard once I opened the gym's entrance door. I put the sweater on and let June out. Despite going for a swim some odd hours ago, she was radiant. June gave me a suffocating hug. The little orange bird was now a huge, loving yellow chicken with arms who's head reached my neck. She was warm enough for sure.

What surprised me most about Sinnoh was how awfully similar it reminded me of Johto. Ecruteak was more foreign-feeling than Hearthome. I was not in a metropolis like Goldenrod, but a small city where people had different accents than the ones I was used to. When I asked a woman walking her Skitty of all Pokémon where I could let my Pokémon run around, she made sure to point out how I was from another region before pointing me to a park where people walked their Pokémon. She warned that hooligans took over the place at night.

The park was relaxing enough. I found an empty area to myself with enough open space to let my Pokémon out.

Once I made sure none of my Pokémon were out attacking people walking by (especially Alan), I laid down on the grass with my head resting on my backpack. I read Alice's letter. Her handwriting was scratchier than mine, but I was still able to read.

_Dear Ed,_

_First off, are your Pokémon okay? You should take them to a Pokémon Center. June should never be swimming at all. You fought a Tyranitar too and I don't think you should've used Shox at all. If you did, then you really need to memorize the type chart. It's not that hard. I hope your Pokémon are doing fine. I know you'll take care of them._

_Also, burn this letter when you're reading it. Just in case it has anything that could cause Team Zero to get in trouble. _

_I wanted to say goodbye personally, but Zero already had everything ready for me to leave. I think I told you already, but I'm going to Hoenn. The person Zero has training me was already waiting here in the Hearthome Gym when we arrived in Sinnoh. I haven't gotten any sleep. It's still night while I write this. It's pretty cold outside. I hope Hoenn is warmer. Last I saw you, you were asleep next to June. It was very adorable and I wish I had a camera. I feel like if your Pokémon were at their healthiest before we fought, the fight would've lasted longer and possibly have had a different outcome._

_With that in mind, I have no idea why you kissed me. You have every right to be mad at me. I don't know why you didn't ask for a rematch or just blew up in my face. That fight was unfair. You gambled and lost, okay, but that's not what I wanted from you. You are better trainer than that. Even before we fought for the Fog Badge, you should've stood up and said it wasn't fair for you to use your Pokémon when they weren't at their strongest._

_I'm saying all this because you're a trainer who managed to make it to his fourth gym. I've seen too many trainers give up way before where we are right now._

_Please tell me you haven't given up on becoming a better, stronger trainer. We are rivals competing against each other. Us kissing shouldn't happen at all and don't let that stop you from reaching my level or even winning against me one day._

_I'm only fifteen years old. I had a boyfriend before I left Apple Town with Shredder, we broke up the night before because figured what I was doing was stupid. It hurt me when he told me that in my face. He said I should be in school making good grades so I can get into a good college then have a high-paying job. It was obvious he wasn't going to support me and that was the end of that._

_I liked you a lot more before we actually had our moment, now that I think about it. I liked how you and I worked together to fight that Venusaur before Rob's Charizard came and burned it to death. You kissing me after me beating your Pokémon to a pulp made no sense._

_I don't think you are weak. I think there's barely any weak people in the world. I think you're not as strong as you could be. Which is okay. I'm not either._

_I don't think I'll ever be strong enough, and I think that's why Zero having me go to Hoenn in the first place. He wants me to be the best Trainer I can possibly be, but the lady I'm with – Master Gwen told me my thoughts are unrealistic. I hope she's right._

_It started when I visited Azalea Town. _(There's a paragraph scribbled out heavily. Alice's pen tore a hole in the paper.)

_Sorry for all the ink._ _I'm sorry, but I'm not ready to talk about it. Looking at the words makes me want to throw up. My head started hurting again and my ears start this sharp ringing sound. I'm going to ask Master Gwen if I can see a doctor._

_Just know something happened to me in Azalea town. And this is a promise to myself as much as it is to you: I'm going to destroy the Rocket Syndicate. This is my promise to the both of us. What they did to us is unforgivable and I will become the most powerful Pokémon Master in the world to end them if I have to. I will even ruin Team Zero if it meant I could ruin the Rocket Syndicate. I will burn anything and everything if I must._

_The Amber Act is the cause of all this most likely. I will become a Champion and fight it on its own grounds. Once the Amber Act and the Rocket Syndicate are gone, I think the world will be a lot better place._

_And I want you by my side when this does happen, Ed. When it does, I want you at your strongest. Please don't stop being a Trainer. If you have to, get every badge in Sinnoh. I'm thinking about getting the rest of my badges in Hoenn if Master Gwen lets me._

_Anyway, the car I've been riding in stopped at the airport. I have to hurry up and catch my flight. Please try and keep in contact until we see each other again. I vow to see you again. Team Zero is just a tool we have to use for now, but what we have is deeper than that._

_Good luck in Sinnoh._

_Love,_

_ Alice_

_PS. We're going to be stronger than Rob too. We'll even be stronger than Zero. I promise you that._

I nearly shot up from the ground ready to run to wherever the airport was, but a conveniently-timed airplane soared through the skies above me.

If Alice wrote the letter last night, that meant she was long gone. I stuffed the letter back into the envelope and put it on my chest as I stared up at the greying clouds.

Despite that letter depressing me, somehow making me feel weak, and Alice's unintentional condescending wording, I was pleased she wasn't happy with the way I acted. In hindsight, I wasn't.

Things were a lot easier to see and understand once they were long gone and over. Trying to figure out what was going to happen next was always the confusing part. It didn't take a physicist or a Pokémon Professor to know that.

I decided that, sooner or later, I had to talk to my parents. Nina could set that up hopefully. I didn't know if I saw myself as their son still. If Alice needed to apologize to me, then they had to also. Things definitely had to be sorted out with Gavin and my Pokémon Box, but something told me Nina had that under control also. How else was Rob a legitimate trainer with Team Zero?

Thinking about Rob made me howl with laughter out there on the grass by myself. Both he and Alice needed me to be stronger than I was. I didn't know what either of them had planned, but I wasn't going to let them screw up.

Alice was willing to ruin Team Zero to ruin the Rocket Syndicate.

I was willing to ruin Team Zero and the Pokémon League itself just to protect her, Rob, and my Pokémon.

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-The End-

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* * *

_I feel better about this chapter than I did with the former epilogue. I also managed to read the whole thing out loud to myself, which is something I rarely do, and then I fixed whatever sounded off to me._

_Writing 'The End' gave me goosebumps._

_So for the record, the former chapter labeled 'Epilogue' is now retconned. I didn't want to resort to that, but I figured it would be for the best. Pokemon 0: Hearts of Trainers is also retconned in its current state. That story will be told, but it'll begin a bit differently. I'm also debating about how I want to handle the next story and what exactly the next story will consist of._

_I could just wing it like I did this first book._

_We'll see._

_But enough about me, let's talk about you all - my wonderful readers who stuck with this story even after I had nearly abandoned it. You folks are amazing. I would sometimes look through reviews to motivate myself for other important tasks unrelated to writing. You all are the best._

_See you soon,_

_Afroshock_

_PS. See you **really **soon._


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